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15-02-2024
JAKARTA: Counting is under way in Indonesia after millions of people turned out to choose a successor to Joko Widodo, the hugely popular president known as Jokowi, who is barred from running for a third term under the constitution.
The frontrunner is Prabowo Subianto, the only general ever to be given a dishonorable discharge from the country’s armed forces.
Widodo’s archrival in the last two elections, 72-year-old Prabowo later became his defence minister and has sought to soften his strongman image throughout the two-month campaign.
He’s been helped by a cartoon portraying him as a “cuddly grandpa” and having Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son, as his running mate after a controversial Constitutional Court ruling on age limits last year.
While the president has not formally endorsed the pair, his unofficial support has boosted their bid for office.
“Jokowi is the single most important person not running for office in this campaign,” Greg Fealy, an emeritus professor at the Australian National University and an expert in Indonesian politics, told media.
“Jokowi is extraordinarily popular, with a more than 80 percent approval rating, and Prabowo is the main beneficiary of that.”
The other candidates are academic turned education minister and Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the biggest party in parliament and Jokowi’s party in 2014 and 2019.
Heavy overnight rain caused flooding in some places and led to the temporary closure of some polling stations, but voting generally went smoothly.
After casting his ballot in Bogor in Western Java, Prabowo was in good spirits.
“Rain brings blessings,” he said. “Hopefully everything goes smoothly. We await the results.”
Anies, who voted in South Jakarta, appeared to reference concerns about the continued persistence of vote buying, as well as the risk of unrest. In 2019, Prabowo challenged Jokowi’s victory and two days of deadly rioting.
“I want to underline that we want honest and fair elections and that the community also accepts the results,” he said.
In a country that celebrates Election Day as a “festival of democracy”, some polling stations were decorated with pink and red hearts for Valentine’s Day.
Queues of voters were enthusiastic. Turnout was more than 80 percent at the last election in 2019.
In the beach town of Sanur on the island of Bali, 18-year-old Gunghar was voting for the first time.
His heart “pounded,” as he placed his vote, he said.
“Young people want major changes in Indonesia,” he told media without revealing which candidate he had backed. “We want Indonesia to be the most impactful country in the world.”
Young people make up just over half the total number of voters and are expected to have a substantial impact on the result. (Int’l News Desk)
