Indonesian challenger says evidence of widespread cheating in election

Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto speaks to the media after polls closed in Jakarta, Indonesia April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto said on Thursday that cheating had occurred across the country during this week's election, which unofficial results showed incumbent President Joko Widodo had won.

"We have declared (victory) because we got evidence of widespread cheating at the village, sub-district and district levels across Indonesia," Prabowo told reporters, minutes after Widodo declared victory at a separate news conference.

Results from private pollsters that counted vote samples from Wednesday's poll point to a comfortable win for Widodo.

(Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Robert Birsel)