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The rules require a candidate to win at least 50 per cent of the national vote to avoid a runoff, which will see the first- and second-placed candidates go head-to-head in polls set for Jun 26.
With slightly more than half of eligible voters aged between 17 to 40, the youth vote will significantly influence the election. These voters are invested in diverse issues ranging from cost of living to climate change and inclusivity to corruption.
The days leading up to polling were plagued with allegations of undemocratic manoeuvres and electoral fraud.
Mr Widodo, who is constitutionally barred from a third term, has been accused of mobilising state apparatus and aid to push for Mr Prabowo and Mr Gibran to win in one round.
Mr Widodo, also known as Jokowi, has thrown his weight behind the Prabowo-Gibran ticket in a bid to cement his legacy, sparking criticism that he was crafting a political dynasty.
A documentary released on the first day of cooling-off – which ran from Sunday to Tuesday – alleged that “political instruments of power” were being used to rig the election, stoking public anger and a fierce rebuttal from Mr Prabowo’s campaign team, which dismissed the film as slanderous.
According to a Feb 10 report by The Intercept, army and intelligence officials have prepared a plan to use police and “babinsas” – the army’s eyes, ears and hands at the neighbourhood level – to receive and distribute money to fix precinct-level tabulation sheets.
If the official results show Prabowo-Gibran winning in one round by only a slim majority, these allegations are expected to grow even louder, with legal challenges launched.
Mr Prabowo is a former general accused of past human rights abuses and has twice failed to become president. He lost in the 2014 and 2019 elections to Jokowi.
But ties between the two have warmed as Mr Prabowo has promised to continue Jokowi’s policies. He has also rehabilitated his image to some extent, and has recently been compared to a cute grandfather.
The challenger most likely to force a runoff is Mr Anies, the former Jakarta governor who has been critical of Jokowi and his policies and has campaigned for change. If the election goes to a runoff, observers expect he will try wooing anti-Prabowo supporters from Mr Ganjar’s camp.
The months before the potential June runoff will also likely involve behind-the-scenes horse-trading among the political elites, with the leading candidate expected to dangle concessions and positions to parties that supported the third-placed candidate.
The new president and vice-president will be sworn in on Oct 20.
Mr Prabowo Subianto has claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election based on early counts, making it the third time lucky for the defence minister after previous attempts for the top job. He added, however, that the public should wait for official results from the General Elections Commission (KPU).
The former general has secured over 58 per cent of votes according to some pollsters focusing on the region, ahead of rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.
“On behalf of the Prabowo-Gibran team and the Indonesian coalition, we are grateful for the quick count results. All counts, all survey institutions, including institutions that are on the sides of other presidential candidates, show the numbers that Prabowo-Gibran won (in) one round,” said Mr Prabowo to racuous applause at the Istora Senayan stadium in Jakarta.
He added: “The campaign is over; we must unite once more. Indonesians want harmony among their leaders and adherence to traditions and the teachings of our elders to seek friendly relationship rather than enmity. Indonesian culture does not favor disparaging one another.”
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Some fishermen on Malaysia’s west coast have no catch for sale and are selling their vessels instead, just to make ends meet.
Climate change and overfishing are two reasons for the falling numbers. Teresa Tang speaks to Rashvin Bedi about what options fishermen have.
I interviewed Widodo twice, the last time during his 2019 re-election campaign, in an airport lounge. He was returning from one of his blusakans, a visit to the villages to listen to voters, and showed up dressed in an inexpensive-looking shirt and sneakers.
He emphasised “implementation” over “ideology” and the need for flexibility in a leader. He described himself as willing to play any role – director, producer, actor, “even the audience”. The frontrunner to replace him, former general Prabowo Subianto, has recast his image in a similarly approachable mould.
Throughout his tenure, Widodo made a priority of containing the deficit, which averaged less than 3 per cent of gross domestic product during his terms.
He inherited a plan for universal healthcare and pushed it hard, extending coverage from 56 per cent to 94 per cent of the people in a population of 280 million. That’s the largest programme of its kind in the world, yet public health spending still comes in at barely 1 per cent of GDP.
Widodo was also very conscious of keeping inflation low, saying rising prices hurt the poor the most. Food price inflation, a scourge that has toppled many a leader, trended steadily down on his watch.
But during his time in office, the economy did not enjoy the 7 per cent growth he had promised. Indonesia grew at a rate of 4 to 5 per cent a year, faster than most emerging nations certainly, but no faster than its Southeast Asian neighbours.
One of his top advisers told me that he kept urging Widodo to run a bigger deficit, in order to push growth faster, but the president remained cautious, choosing stability over a dash for growth. This might be explained by the way that 1998, the year riots provoked by the Asian financial crisis left Jakarta in flames, still lingers in the minds of many Indonesians.
Stability seems to suit them. In a 2023 Edelman survey of leading developed and developing nations, 73 per cent of Indonesians said they expected to be better off in five years – among the highest readings for any country.
ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the support from the PPP and other parties and said all the parties had come together because they needed to tackle numerous challenges, particularly the economy. The country of 241 million people is grappling with an economic crisis amid slow growth and recordContinue Reading