The front-runner for Indonesia’s presidency, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, declared victory Wednesday after unofficial vote counts showed him with a wide lead in the three-way race.
Thousands of people cheered as Prabowo greeted supporters at a local sports arena. He called the unofficial results a “victory of all Indonesians” and pledged to assemble a government made up of Indonesia’s best.
The unofficial tallies by a set of independent pollsters released shortly after the polls closed at 1 p.m. indicated Prabowo had about 60% of the vote. Former Jakarta Governor Anies Beswadan had just over 20%, and another former provincial governor, Ganjar Pranowo, was in distant third place.
If official returns show Subianto winning with more than 50% of all votes cast — along with at least 20% of the vote in half of Indonesia’s provinces — he will win the presidency outright and avoid a second-round vote in June.
It will be weeks before the final tally is completed.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller commented on the conduct of the election, saying, “This vote was a testament to the durability and strength of the Indonesian people’s commitment to the democratic process and electoral institutions.
“We look forward to the General Election Commission’s announcement of the official election results,” he said.
This is the 72-year-old Prabowo’s third try for the presidency, having lost both previous efforts to outgoing President Joko Widodo, who is leaving office after serving his constitutionally limited two five-year terms.
Prabowo faces numerous accusations of human rights violations dating to his days in the army during the 1980s and 1990s, when he was rising through the ranks to become a three-star general before being dismissed over allegations he ordered the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists.
Prabowo denies all the allegations of wrongdoing.
Many of Indonesia’s voters don’t have a recollection of that time period.
More than half of the country’s eligible voters are younger than 40, and one-third are younger than 30. One of them is Sabrina Ramadhani, 23, who says Prabowo has the traits to be a good leader.
“Mr. Prabowo is protective of the citizens; he’s energetic, assertive, charismatic and also generous,” she said.
Prabowo has reformed his image for the campaign, using TikTok and other social media platforms to portray himself as a grandfather figure.
He appeared to have the tacit backing of the outgoing president, whose son is Prabowo’s vice presidential running mate.
Wednesday’s vote was the world’s biggest single-day election, with more than 200 million people spread across three time zones and approximately 17,000 inhabited islands casting their ballots. Voters were also choosing who would serve more than 20,000 national, provincial and local legislative offices in the world’s third-largest democracy.
Heavy rains in the capital, Jakarta, triggered flooding that delayed the opening of several voting stations.
VOA’s Richard Green contributed to this report.
