TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice presidential candidate Mahfud Md stressed that it was not yet time to congratulate Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the winners of the 2024 presidential election despite the General Elections Commission's (KPU) announcement on March 20, 2024.

He argued that the real winner of the election would only be known after the Constitutional Court (MK) ruled on the election dispute or PHPU cases.

“We have restrained ourselves. Let the gavel be struck first so that people can see the theater of constitutional law. If that is the decision, then we have big hearts as children of the nation,” Mahfud said in Rhenald Kasali's podcast on Monday, March 25.

He highlighted that candidate pair 03, he and Ganjar Pranowo, have not been yet defeated in the 2024 presidential election. There is still a long way to go to determine the defeated parties and the victors according to the constitution and legal procedures as a legal case is still being processed in MK, and a political way in the form of a House inquiry is still possible.

These two measures, Mahfud went on, could deal with the alleged structured, systematic, and massive fraud in the presidential election.

Regardless of the outcome of the MK’s trials, Mahfud said his side will continue to take legal action, as he considered the MK as a theater stage to raise legal awareness among the public around the world. “This is to educate people to acknowledge the problem. There will be debates on MK.”

The Ganjar-Mahfud team has prepared pieces of evidence and witnesses for the trial which was expected to commence this week. However, the former constitutional judge said several witnesses have withdrawn because they were afraid to testify.

Mahfud Md also said that institutions similar to the Constitutional Court have overturned election results due to fraud in several countries, including Kenya, Bolivia, Thailand, and Ukraine.

ANNISA FEBIOLA

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