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Indonesia has voted – ex-general the clear favorite
The former general Prabowo Subianto is considered the overwhelming favorite to succeed the popular President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi. photo
© Dita Alangkara/AP/dpa
Hardly any other president in the world is as popular as Joko Widodo in Indonesia. Now his successor is being sought. Where is Southeast Asia’s most powerful country heading?
Preliminary results are expected no later than this evening local time. The official result will not be announced until the end of March. With 274 million inhabitants, the G20 country is the third largest democracy and the largest Muslim country in the world.
The former general Prabowo Subianto is considered the overwhelming favorite to succeed the popular President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi. Although he is accused of human rights violations during the Suharto dictatorship in the 1980s and 1990s, the incumbent defense minister is extremely popular, especially among young voters. According to surveys, the 72-year-old could get more than 50 percent of the vote thanks to a clever social media campaign – and would therefore not even have to go into a runoff election against one of his two competitors in June.
Several parts of Jakarta flooded
The governor of Central Java province, Ganjar Pranowo (55), and the former governor of Jakarta and ex-education minister Anies Baswedan (54) ran against Prabowo. On the holiday island of Bali, queues formed in front of the polling stations in the morning, many came in their traditional clothing. The influx was also large in the capital Jakarta on Java after heavy rain initially flooded several parts of the city. “But that doesn’t seem to stop people,” reported Denis Suarsana, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s office in Jakarta. When asked, most voters say that only Prabowo has the necessary experience to continue the economic triumph of the Jokowi era. Observers see the fact that he nominated the incumbent’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as vice president as a stroke of genius.
However, a documentary by a prominent investigative journalist has been causing a stir for days and went viral online over the weekend. In “Dirty Vote,” Jokowi is accused of using state resources to manipulate the election in favor of Prabowo and his son. The video was viewed millions of times. Political observers still don’t expect the video to change much about the outcome of the election.
The archipelago is the largest economy in Southeast Asia thanks to huge nickel ore deposits. According to forecasts, Indonesia will rise to the top 5 worldwide by 2045 – overtaking Germany.