Prabowo Subianto Elected as Indonesia’s President

Prabowo Subianto has clinched victory as Indonesia’s President following a decisive win over two opponents who have pledged to file a legal complaint about the voting.

Defence Minister Prabowo and his vice-presidential running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, secured a majority of votes in the initial round on February 14, garnering 59 percent, or over 96 million votes, as stated by General Elections Commission Chairperson Hasyim Asy’ari on Wednesday.

Anies Baswedan obtained nearly 41 million votes, constituting 25 percent of the total tally, while Ganjar Pranowo garnered over 27 million votes, more than 16 percent.

Prabowo, a former special forces commander, is anticipated to succeed outgoing President Joko Widodo, who is Gibran’s father, in October following a transition phase.

The 72-year-old secured the election by pledging to uphold Widodo’s policies, leveraging the president’s popularity and utilizing social media platforms such as TikTok to engage Indonesia’s substantial young voter demographic, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Significantly, Prabowo had declared triumph in the election following unofficial vote counts indicating a substantial lead over his opponents.

“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,” he said at the time in a speech broadcast on national television.

Following the outcome, Prabowo’s rivals Anies and Ganjar have announced their intention to file a complaint with the Constitutional Court regarding “irregularities” and accusations of fraud during the general election.

Prabowo’s legal team, however, expressed confidence that the result would not be successfully contested due to his significant margin of victory, as reported by local media on Tuesday.

However, Prabowo’s path to victory was overshadowed by controversies and apprehensions regarding patronage politics due to his collaboration with the president, commonly referred to as Jokowi, who faced widespread accusations of leveraging his authority to benefit his previous adversary. Nonetheless, these allegations were refuted by his supporters.

Prabowo Subianto has also faced allegations of human rights violations in East Timor, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 following the downfall of the Soeharto regime, and in the restive eastern region of Papua in Indonesia, according to reports by Al Jazeera.

During the campaign, Prabowo and Gibran vowed to uphold the policies of Gibran’s father, who maintained an approval rating of approximately 80 percent but was unable to seek reelection due to constitutional term limits.

The incoming leaders will take over an economy that expanded just over 5 percent last year and encompasses a range of ambitious infrastructure initiatives, notably the relocation of the capital from Jakarta to the island of Borneo.