Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto declared victory in a presidential election on Wednesday after unofficial vote counts showed him with a huge lead.
The 72-year-old candidate, who was once banned by the United States from entering for two decades due to his human rights record, told thousands of supporters in a sports stadium in the capital, Jakarta, that the victory was “the victory of all Indonesians.” There was no declaration by electoral officials and the two former provincial governors who also contested the election in the world’s third-largest democracy have not conceded defeat.
Rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo trailed with about 25% and 17% respectively, according to the independent pollsters.
200 million vote in world’s largest elections
Polls opened in Indonesia on February 14, drawing an unprecedented turnout of over 200 million voters to elect a new president, marking the world’s largest single-day election event.
Besides electing a new president, the Indonesians voted to elect approximately 20,000 national and provincial lawmakers.
Notably, youth engagement was high, with half of registered voters under 40, as per the General Election Commission.
The massive democratic exercise underscored Indonesia’s status as the globe’s third-largest electoral democracy and the largest Muslim-majority nation. The presidential campaigns focused on crucial topics like job creation, economic growth, and environmental sustainability, with charismatic figures leading the charge.
Indonesia elections by the numbers
- 200 million voters
- 820,000 polling stations
- 580 seats in the House of Representatives with more than 9,900 candidates
- 152 seats in the Regional Representative Council (DPD)
- 38 provinces and 416 districts.
Winning candidate
Leading the polls is Prabowo Subianto, a former military general and incumbent defense minister.
Based on unofficial tallies conducted by Indonesian polling agencies, Subianto secured approximately 57% to 59% of the votes, with over 80% of the sampled polling places counted.
Despite controversies surrounding his past, including allegations of human rights abuses, Prabowo’s popularity remained formidable.
“We are grateful for the quick count results,” he said in the speech, broadcast on national television. “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.”
Challenging him was Ganjar Pranowo, representing the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, and Anies Baswedan, running as an independent candidate with strong ties to Islamic political groups.
Indonesia’s presidential candidates — a defense minister and 2 former governors
The presidential candidates include a former army general and two former governors.
- Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto
- Ex-governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo
- Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan
Prabowo Subianto: Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, formerly a lieutenant general during the 1967-98 Suharto dictatorship, has controversial ties to that era. He was discharged dishonorably in 1998 after his involvement with Kopassus soldiers who kidnapped and tortured political opponents of Suharto, his former father-in-law. Subianto evaded trial and spent time in self-exile in Jordan before returning to establish the Gerindra Party in 2008. After two failed presidential bids against Joko Widodo, he became defense minister in 2019, aiming for national unity.
His vice-presidential running mate is incumbent president’s eldest son and current mayor of Surakarta or Solo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka — a show of Jokowi’s tacit support for Prabowo.
Ganjar Pranowo: The candidate from the ruling party, Ganjar Pranowo, lacks the support of President Widodo, who has distanced himself from the party’s campaign, implying his endorsement of Subianto and Raka, his son.
Previously a national legislator for the governing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Pranowo served two terms as Central Java governor after being elected in 2013. During his tenure, he made headlines for refusing Israel’s participation in the Under-20 FIFA World Cup, resulting in Indonesia losing its hosting rights and facing criticism from soccer enthusiasts due to Indonesia’s lack of diplomatic relations with Israel.
“We want to develop Indonesia faster and continue the good things that have been done by the current government, to fix what is not good enough and to leave the bad ones,” Pranowo had said. His running mate, Mohammad Mahfud, resigned as security minister to focus on the campaign.
Anies Baswedan: Anies Baswedan, a former head of an Islamic university, held the position of Jakarta governor until last year following his victory in a contentious 2017 election against an ethnic Chinese Christian incumbent supported by Widodo.
Baswedan, a former Fulbright scholar, previously served as the Minister of Education and Culture from 2014 to 2016, and was removed from the Cabinet by Widodo. Backed by conservative Muslim factions, he mobilized large crowds in 2016 against the Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, leading to Purnama’s imprisonment on blasphemy charges.
Baswedan opposes Widodo’s ambitious plan to relocate Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara on the island of Borneo, a distance of approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles). He has voiced concerns about the declining state of democracy in Indonesia, citing examples such as Prabowo’s selection of Widodo’s son as his running mate, and pledges to restore its integrity.
Legacy of outgoing president
The legacy of outgoing President Joko Widodo, affectionately known as Jokowi, loomed large over the election.
While constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, concerns had arisen over potential dynastic ambitions, with Jokowi’s son running for vice president alongside Prabowo.
“The plan is clearly to establish a Jokowi dynasty and Gibran fits the mold,” said Adrian Vickers, professor of Southeast Asian studies at the University of Sydney. “He is also clearly the asset for Prabowo in getting the millennial vote”.
Chances of run-off
With such a competitive field, experts anticipate a likely run-off election. To secure victory, a candidate must obtain a simple majority of at least 50% of total votes and 20% of votes in more than half of the country’s provinces. Should no candidate meet these criteria, a run-off election is scheduled for June 26.
Indonesia’s political landscape underwent significant transformation since the end of the authoritarian rule of Suharto in 1998, evolving into a vibrant democracy and a burgeoning economy in the heart of Southeast Asia.
The Indonesian archipelago, spanning an area wider than the United States and comprising over 18,000 islands, presented a logistical challenge in organizing the elections. With three time zones, 6,000 inhabited islands, and a diverse population speaking over 150 languages, orchestrating such a monumental electoral event required meticulous planning.