Will Indonesia’s Prabowo face pre-election fraud investigation – or could party jockeying save him?

Observers anticipate that a vote on the inquiry could take place on Tuesday when lawmakers in Indonesia’s House of Representatives are scheduled to conclude their recess and resume their legislative activities.

Analysts are unsure how many parties plan to press on with the inquiry, particularly when some of them are trying to align themselves with Prabowo as he assembles his ruling coalition.

As the official election results are scheduled to be announced on March 20, calls have mounted for an investigation into supposed election fraud, fuelled by allegations of voter intimidation as well as the misuse of government resources to garner support for Prabowo.

According to Nicky Fahrizal, a political researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Indonesia, the inquiry would not be aimed at alleged irregularities on the day of the vote but in the lead-up to the poll.

“The parliamentary inquiry right is specifically aimed at conditions that occurred before the election. This includes issues such as the neutrality of the police, army, and [state officials]; distribution of social assistance with political [motivations]; and the mobilisation of state instruments,” Fahrizal said. “Additionally, it addresses whether there are election contestants who benefited from state resources or were sponsored by the state.”

At least five parties affiliated with Anies and Ganjar’s camps have made statements to suggest they would launch an inquiry through the House of Representatives to investigate what they perceive as “structured, systematic, and massive” fraud in the electoral process.

The parties calling for the inquiry parties hold a slim majority of 54 per cent in the House, controlling 314 out of the 575 seats. In