Indonesian presidential frontrunner's number was not changed on official ballot paper
- Published on February 22, 2024 at 06:18
- 4 min read
- By Tria DIANTI, AFP Indonesia
Copyright © AFP 2017-2024. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
"What kind of fraud is this?" asks text on a TikTok video posted on February 3, 2024, days before Indonesians voted in the presidential election.
"Since when [the ballot number of] Mr Prabowo was swapped to No 03...!!! Let's make it go viral so votes for Mr Prabowo won't go to 03."
The video appears to show ballot papers featuring photos of presidential hopefuls Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo and Prabowo Subianto alongside their respective running mates.
Ganjar is incorrectly listed as candidate number two and Prabowo as number three, which does not correspond to the numbers assigned to them by the General Elections Commission (KPU).
When candidates drew their numbers in November 2023, Prabowo in fact got number two and Ganjar drew number three (archived link).
On one of the ballot papers in the video, the number three -- above the photo of Prabowo and his running mate -- has been circled with pen.
The post appears to suggest that Prabowo's candidate number was changed in a plot to make voters accidentally vote for Ganjar.
The 33-second clip had garnered more than 11,800 views before it was deleted.
The video was viewed more than a million times in similar posts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and video-sharing app SnackVideo.
However, the video does not show genuine ballot papers.
KPU commissioner Idham Holik said the video circulating online was a "hoax".
"The KPU has never produced ballot papers that are not in accordance with the KPU's decision regarding the numbers for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates," he told AFP on February 7, 2024.
A sample of the official ballot paper for the presidential election was published by Indonesian media here and here (archived links here and here).
It shows Prabowo listed as candidate two -- which is the number assigned to him by the KPU -- not number three, as shown in the video shared on social media. Ganjar is number three -- not two, as alleged in the false clip.
The fabricated ballot paper shows different photos of the candidates from the official ballot paper. Prabowo, for example, is pictured wearing a black suit and a hat in the former, but a blue shirt and no hat in the latter.
Furthermore, the top of the fake ballot is marked "General Election Ballot Paper", while the real thing simply says "Ballot Paper" in Indonesian (highlighted below in blue).
The official ballot paper is also marked "Election as a Means for National Integration". This text does not appear on the fake ballot, which instead shows a 2024 election logo (below in green).
The fabricated ballot paper also says "President and Vice President / Republic of Indonesia / Year 2024", while the genuine one says "General Election / President and Vice President / Republic of Indonesia / Year 2024" (below in orange).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the fabricated ballot paper (left) and the official ballot paper (right), with some differences marked by AFP:
AFP could not trace the origin of the footage of the unofficial ballot paper.
Defence Minister Prabowo was on course to win the race to lead the world's largest Muslim-majority country by a wide margin, official tallies showed on February 22, 2024, with more 74 percent of votes counted.
The final result is not expected until late March, but early indications all point to the 72-year-old former general succeeding popular outgoing leader Joko Widodo.
AFP has debunked more misinformation related to Indonesia's 2024 elections here.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
