14-2-2024 (JAKARTA) Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto declared a resounding victory in the presidential election on Wednesday (Feb 14), as unofficial vote counts revealed a commanding lead that could secure his win in a single round. The political veteran, renowned for his previous role as a special forces commander, garnered approximately 58 percent of the votes, according to four pollsters who tallied ballots from a representative sample of voting stations across the nation. The counting progress varied from 78 percent to 93 percent at 1233 GMT.
Addressing a jubilant crowd of supporters, Prabowo delivered an impassioned speech that was met with thunderous applause. He pledged to establish a government consisting of “the best Indonesians” and emphasized that this victory belonged to the entire nation.
His rivals, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, trailed significantly with approximately 25 percent and 17 percent of the votes, respectively, as reported by independent pollsters conducting “quick counts,” which have proven to be accurate in past elections.
The election commission’s preliminary count, although slower, exhibited a similar trend with Prabowo securing 57.7 percent of the votes based on around 6 percent of the recorded ballots.
This highly anticipated electoral contest featured two popular former governors competing against the pre-election frontrunner, Prabowo, who once served as a trusted lieutenant to Indonesia’s late authoritarian leader, Suharto. Notably, Prabowo enjoyed the implicit support of the immensely popular incumbent, Joko Widodo, who viewed his former adversary as a candidate capable of upholding his legacy, including appointing his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as Prabowo’s running mate for the defence minister position.
Anies and Ganjar urged the public to refrain from drawing premature conclusions regarding the outcome and to patiently await the official result, which is expected to be announced no later than March 20.
In response to the unofficial results, the campaign teams of Ganjar and Anies expressed concerns over potential electoral violations and alleged “structural, systematic, and massive fraud.” However, they did not present any evidence to substantiate their claims.
