Presidential contender, Prabowo Subianto and his political coalition,

rejected the official presidential election results announced by the

General Election Commission (KPU) and filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional

Court citing that “structural, systematic and massive electoral fraud”

occurred. His challenge received quite a bit of attention in both the

local/international media and by political observers who believed that such

a move could escalate political tensions and could divide the country.

Despite the hype, media attention and fears of polarization, Prabowo’s

decision to appeal the presidential election results in the Court is

actually the norm not the exception. Shawn and Tanita shed light on how

many of the same political players in power today made the same claims in

past elections when outcomes were less than favorable.