Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto yesterday claimed victory in the first round of the country’s presidential election after preliminary results indicated he was on course to be elected leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Official results are not due until next month, but government-approved pollsters who collected a sample of votes at polling stations for previously reliable “quick counts” put Prabowo at between 57 percent and 59 percent of votes, with more than 80 percent of the vote counted in polling places sampled.
“We are grateful for the quick count results,” he said in a speech to supporters. “We should not be arrogant, we should not be proud, we should not be euphoric, we still have to be humble, this victory must be a victory for all Indonesian people.”
Photo: AFP
“All counts, all pollsters ... showed ... that Prabowo-Gibran won in one round. This victory should be a victory for all Indonesians,” he told a crowd at an arena in central Jakarta, referring to his running mate, Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
The preliminary results put Prabowo on track for a majority over his rivals to avoid a second-round runoff vote, which would have taken place in June.
Prabowo needs to claim more than 50 percent of the overall vote and at least one-fifth of ballots cast in more than half of the country’s 38 provinces to secure the presidency.
Photo: AFP
While claiming victory Prabowo, said he that would wait for the “official result” from the election commission.
“We believe Indonesian democracy is running well. The people have determined, the people have decided,” he told supporters.
The 72-year-old is a link to the brutal period of dictatorship that ended just more than 25 years ago.
Rights groups have expressed alarm that Prabowo could roll back hard-won democratic freedoms, pointing to accusations he ordered the abduction of democracy advocates at the end of then-Indonesian president Suharto’s rule.
Prabowo was dismissed from the military in 1998 over the abductions. The US for years refused him a visa over his rights record, but he denied the accusations and was never charged.
He has since rehabilitated his image, partly thanks to a savvy social media campaign targeting Indonesia’s youth in which he is portrayed as a “cuddly grandpa.”
He has also presented himself as an heir to the popular Widodo.
Widodo’s successor will inherit an economy with impressive growth and ambitious infrastructure projects, including the ongoing transfer of the nation’s capital from congested Jakarta to the frontier island of Borneo at a staggering cost exceeding US$30 billion.
The election also has high stakes for the US and China, as Indonesia has a huge domestic market, natural resources like nickel and palm oil, and diplomatic influence with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
Widodo’s rise from a riverside slum to the presidency has shown the vibrancy of Indonesia’s democracy in a region rife with authoritarian regimes.
However, with a leading candidate linked to a former dictator, and Widodo’s son on the ballot, some observers fear that democracy is eroding.
Additional reporting by AFP
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