JAKARTA, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- An Indonesian court Monday turned down an appeal filed by presidential hopeful Wiranto against the July 5 election results.
Wiranto, former head of the Indonesian armed forces, filed a legal complaint with the constitutional court last week, claiming he lost more than 5.4 million votes in 26 provinces due to irregularities in the first round of Indonesia's first direct presidential election.
Jimly Asshiddiqie, chief of the constitutional court, said in the ruling the plaintiff has failed to prove his claim.
Wiranto, who has been indicted for human rights violations by a U.N.-backed court in East Timor, came in third, missing out by a few million votes on a place in a Sept. 20 run-off between the top two candidates.
A final official vote tally issued by the Elections Commission late last month shows that front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came first in a field of five candidates but failed to win a majority, while incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri placed second.
According to existing law, Yudhoyono will go head-to-head against Megawati in the Sept. 20 run-off.
