JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, a former general linked to past human rights atrocities, on Wednesday claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election based on unofficial tallies.
The 72-year-old candidate, who had been banned from entering the United States for two decades because of his human rights record, told thousands of supporters at a sports stadium in the capital, Jakarta, that the victory, according to a first, unofficial “quick count” was “the victory of all Indonesians”.
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There were no statements from election officials and the two former provincial governors who also contested the election during the poll. the third largest democracy in the world did not recognize their defeat.
Subianto was an army general during the brutal period of Suharto’s dictatorship that ended just over 25 years ago. He served as a special forces commander in a unit linked to torture and disappearances, allegations he vehemently denies.
According to unofficial tallies by Indonesian polling agencies, Subianto held between 57 percent and 59 percent of the vote, with more than 80 percent of votes counted in the polling stations sampled.
Quick counts are based on actual vote counts at a sample of polling stations across Indonesia. The laborious official count may not be finished for another month, but rapid tallies have provided a clear picture of the results of Indonesia’s four presidential elections since direct voting began in 2004.
“We are grateful for the results of the rapid count,” he said in his speech broadcast on national television. “We must not be arrogant, we must not be proud, we must not be euphoric, we must still be humble, this victory must be a victory for all the Indonesian people.”
To avoid a runoff against his rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, Subianto needs more than 50 percent of all votes cast and at least 20 percent in each of the country’s provinces.
Subianto presented himself as the heir to the hugely popular incumbent President Joko Widodo, whose son he chose as his vice-presidential candidate.
Widodo’s successor will inherit an economy with impressive growth and ambitious infrastructure projects, including the ongoing transfer of the national capital from congested Jakarta to the border island of Borneo, at a staggering cost exceeding $30 billion.
The election also has high stakes for the United States and China, as Indonesia has a huge domestic market, natural resources like nickel and palm oil, and diplomatic influence with its neighbors in Southeast Asia.
Widodo’s rise from a riverside slum to the presidency showed the dynamism of Indonesian democracy in a region plagued by authoritarian regimes.
But with a leading candidate linked to a former dictator and Widodo’s son on the ballot, some observers fear an erosion of democracy.
Indonesians voted Wednesday in an election that lasted just six hours. THE voting logistics Ballot boxes and ballots were transported by boats, motorbikes, horses and on foot to some of the most remote locations.
In addition to the presidency, some 20,000 national, provincial and district parliamentary positions were contested by tens of thousands of candidates in one of the world’s most important elections, which authorities say went smoothly major. Around 10,000 candidates from 18 political parties alone were targeting the 580 seats in the national Parliament.
Voters polled by The Associated Press expressed hope that their next leader will help them achieve greater prosperity in a country where nearly a tenth of the population still lives in poverty.
“I hope Indonesia can progress better and that I didn’t vote for the wrong person,” said Indra Nurohim, a 17-year-old high school student and first-time voter. “I hope we have a better government.”
Subianto, the oldest presidential candidate at 72, lost in two previous elections to Widodo but led in independent polls. His running mate, Widodo’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, was allowed to run when the Constitutional Court made an exception at the minimum required age of 40 years. The court was then headed by Widodo’s brother-in-law, who was removed by an ethics committee for failing to recuse himself, and Widodo was accused of favoritism and nepotism.
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Critics have accused Widodo of trying to build a political dynasty, although he is the first president to emerge from outside the political and military elite since the 1998 end of Suharto’s dictatorial rule, characterized by widespread violations human rights, looting and political unrest.
Subianto, a former lieutenant general who married one of Suharto’s daughters, was a long-time commander of the army’s special forces, called Kopassus. He was dishonorably discharged from office in 1998 after Kopassus forces kidnapped and tortured political opponents of Suharto.
Of at least 22 activists kidnapped that year, 13 remain missing to this day, and their families demonstrate weekly outside the presidential palace to demand justice for the activists. Subianto was never tried and denied any involvement, although several of his men were tried and convicted.
During the election campaign that ended last weekend, Subianto and his strategists used AI and social media platforms like TikTok to soften his image by portraying him as a cuddly grandfather to his younger self. running mate. Rejected by human rights advocates, he danced on the electoral stage and promised to generate nearly 20 million jobs in his first term if elected.
Baswedan, a former head of an Islamic university, was governor of Jakarta until last year. A former Fulbright scholar, Baswedan served as education and culture minister from 2014 to 2016, when Widodo removed him from government after accusing him of failing to resolve the problems of thousands of students affected by the fires of forest.
Baswedan opposes Widodo’s plan to move Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara on the island of Borneo, which involves building government buildings and residential enclaves by clearing lush rainforests.
In an interview with the AP last month, he said democracy in Indonesia was under threat, given Subianto’s choice of the president’s son as his running mate.
“It means there is a decline in trust, it means our democracy is experiencing a decline in quality, it means many legal rules are being circumvented,” he said.
Pranowo is the ruling party’s candidate but does not have Widodo’s support. He served as a national lawmaker for the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party for 10 years before being elected in 2013 to the first of two terms as governor of the vote-rich Central Java region.
While governor, Pranowo refused to allow Israel to participate in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup to be held in his province. FIFA then dropped Indonesia as host of the matches, angering Indonesian football fans and Widodo.
Israel and Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, do not have diplomatic relations.
Under Widodo, Indonesia has enjoyed a remarkable period of growth averaging 5% per year, except in 2020, when the economy contracted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Its economic roadmap, titled “Golden Indonesia 2045,” projects Indonesia becoming one of the world’s top five economies with a GDP of up to $9 trillion, exactly a century after gaining independence from Dutch colonizers.
Associated Press reporter Jim Gomez contributed to this report.
