Indonesia election results updates: Prabowo claims presidential race win
Votes are still being counted but unofficial figures suggest Prabowo Subianto holds a commanding lead.
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- Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto claims victory in Indonesia’s presidential election after unofficial figures showed him well ahead of opponents Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.
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More than 200 million people registered to vote across the archipelago in one of the world’s biggest and most complex elections.
- Turnout in the race to succeed President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, who is serving the last of his two terms in office, appears high.
- Heavy rain and flooding caused some problems on the morning of election day, particularly in Jakarta and Java, but did not seem to dampen voters’ enthusiasm.
It’s a wrap
That’s it from the Al Jazeera Live team covering Indonesia’s elections.
You can catch up with today’s developments by reading our news story here.
Thank you for joining us.
A recap of today’s developments
We will be shortly wrapping up our marathon coverage of Indonesia’s elections, so let’s remind you what happened today.
- Prabowo Subianto has declared victory in the presidential race, citing unofficial tallies that showed him winning with more than 55 percent of the vote.
- The so-called “quick counts” by independent pollsters, based on a sampling of polling stations, have traditionally proven accurate.
- Prabowo’s two opponents – Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo – have not conceded defeat, telling supporters to wait for the official tally by the election commission.
- The official vote tally is a laborious process that could take several weeks to complete.
- Heavy rainfall caused some problems early on election day, but turnout is believed to be high.
More from Anies
The presidential candidate says the “movement of change” that he’s been leading has brought a new nuance into Indonesia’s election.
Anies continues by promising to remain in the movement, stressing that the fight “is not over”.
Anies makes statement
We now have the first comments by Anies Baswedan since Prabowo declared victory.
The 57-year-old academic-turned-politician says he will respect the decision of the people while also noting that vote tallying is still under way.
“We will wait until the official result, and we will respect it,” he said, calling on supporters to monitor the official count by the election commission.
As of 14:00 GMT, Prabowo appeared to comfortably beat his rivals winning about 58 percent of votes, according to the unofficial “quick count” tallies by four pollsters based on samples of voting stations across Indonesia.
The number of ballots tallied by the pollsters ranged from about 86 percent to 95 percent.
Prabowo supporters confident as third time seemingly the charm
The mood was certainly celebratory as Prabowo and Gibran addressed tens of thousands of people.
Their supporters were confident that Prabowo will be the next president of Indonesia.
In terms of Prabowo’s speech, it can only be described as a victory speech. He acknowledged the quick count and said that they have led it in multiple polls, adding course that voters do need to wait for the official results which will take some weeks to be calculated.
But at the same time, he said that he and Gibran will be leaders for all of Indonesia, that it’s time to look past the disagreements that may have emerged during the campaign, and that he looks forward to moving Indonesia forward and developing the country.
Prabowo has run for the presidency twice before, this was his third election, and it appears that the third time is indeed the charm.
Now, we do have to wait for the official results but the quick count in Indonesia is widely seen as giving a reliable indicator of the outcome and it does seem that Prabowo will be Indonesia’s next president.
Photos: Vote counting under way
We haven’t had reaction yet from Anies and Ganjar to Prabowo’s victory-claiming speech, but a reminder that both contenders had earlier said that people should “wait” for the official results.
Prabowo – from populist outsider to insider ‘cuddly uncle’
A former Kopassus special forces commander, Prabowo is the only candidate with links to the hardline regime of former leader Soeharto, once his father-in-law.
He was dishonourably discharged in 1998 after Kopassus soldiers kidnapped and tortured Soeharto’s political opponents. Of 22 activists kidnapped that year, 13 remain missing. And while Prabowo never faced trial, several of his men were tried and convicted.
He has also been accused of human rights abuses in East Timor, which won independence from Indonesia amid the collapse of the Soeharto regime, and its troubled eastern region of Papua.
For all that, most Indonesian voters seemed unconcerned.
Murdoch University’s Ian Wilson told Al Jazeera that in his third presidential attempt, Prabowo changed his approach.
“Instead of posing himself as a kind of a populist outsider, with a very fiery ultranationalist rhetoric, and very open about his military background and militarist approach, he’s become the insider guy,” said Wilson, who is also a visiting fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
“He targeted a younger demographic by remaking his image through cartoon figures, as a cuddly uncle, casting a kind of a doubt over his human rights record, which for a younger generation is sort of an ancient history for the most part, and rather than trying to compete against the popularity of the incumbent he’s ridden on top of it,” he added, referring to Gibran being Prabowo’s running mate.
Photos: Prabowo, Gibran greet supporters in Jakarta
Prabowo and Indonesia’s foreign policy
Ian Wilson, a senior lecturer and research fellow at Murdoch University’s Indo-Pacific Research Centre, said he didn’t expect major changes in Indonesia’s foreign policy under a Prabowo presidency.
“You would imagine that for the most part, he would continue Indonesia’s non-aligned approach to the region,” Wilson told Al Jazeera, referencing Prabowo’s statements during campaigning.
“He’s articulated this, saying … he wants Indonesia to get along with everyone – he doesn’t want to take sides in any tensions in the region between the United States and China,” Wilson said.
“So I think, in a broader sense, you’ll see a continuation of what’s been the foreign policy norm of Indonesia.”
Photos from Prabowo-Gibran rally
Prayers, dancing and confetti
The speeches at the Istora Senayan sporting arena conclude with a communal prayer.
This is followed by dancing, a cornerstone of Prabowo’s campaign, with blue confetti raining down on the candidates.
Gibran is now addressing the crowd
Prabowo’s running mate begins by saying he is “very grateful” for his supporters.
“Thank you everyone for sweating, bleeding, spending their time campaigning,” Gibran said.
“A few months ago, I was no one. Now me and Prabowo are here,” the 36-year-old added.
“I want to thank Prabowo for giving a place to a young person like me … to be part of the road to a golden Indonesia,” Gibran added, describing the country’s youth as the “golden generation”.
Prabowo calls for calm while waiting for official result
Prabowo says other powers are envious of a country as big and rich as Indonesia and reiterates his call for unity.
“Let’s maintain peace while waiting for the official result,” he adds.
While claiming victory based on the unofficial tallies, Prabowo also says people should wait for the official results from the election commission.
He continues by expressing confidence that Indonesian democracy is working well and called for unity.
He also pledges to create a government consisting of the “best” people in the country.
More from Prabowo
The presidential candidate says that all quick counts show that his ticket has won in a single round.
He says his government will be for “all” and promises that he and his running mate will “protect and defend all the people of Indonesia, regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion or social background”.
Prabowo begins speech
We now have the first comments by Prabowo, who is addressing his supporters in Jakarta.
He says that he is “grateful” that the election was done peacefully, as well as for the quick count results.
Update: Prabowo arrives at Jakarta stadium
It appears that Prabowo, accompanied by Gibran, has arrived at the Istora Senayan sporting arena.
They arrived by car, with Prabowo standing up through the sunroof and greeting the crowds.
Here’s quick recap
It’s a little past 19:30 in Jakarta (12:30 GMT) so let’s bring you up to speed with all the latest developments:
- Prabowo’s campaign team says it is confident of an outright victory after unofficial early results published by pollsters showed him winning more than 55 percent of the vote.
- His rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo have said they will “wait” for the results announced by the country’s election commission.
- Prabowo is expected to make a speech shortly in Jakarta.
- Analysts say his apparent strong electoral performance was partly due to the backing of Jokowi, the popular incumbent president.
Indonesia at a glance
More on Prabowo’s expected speech
We reported earlier that Prabowo was expected to give a speech soon.
Local media is currently reporting that this will take place at about 8pm Jakarta time (13:00 GMT), or in 35 minutes from now.
WATCH: Access to education at top of candidates’ messaging
Access to education was a major issue for voters in Indonesia in the lead-up to the polls.
Each of the three presidential candidates put forward their vision for improved access to schools and universities.
Watch our video report from the island of Flores below:
Indonesians still like leaders seen as ‘firm, serving public’
Titi Anggraini, an advisory board member of Indonesia’s Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), says that even though quick counts use samples, they are carried out “scientifically”.
“Quick counts have been done [in Indonesia] since 2004, and so far the results released by accountable quick count institutions are not much different from the results by the KPU, which will be announced no later than 35 days after the votes are counted at polling stations,” Titi told Al Jazeera, referring to Indonesia’s General Elections Commission.
Titi, who is also a non-permanent constitutional law lecturer at Universitas Indonesia, said voters in the country “still like leadership from figures portrayed as being firm and serving the public”.
“Both of them can be seen in Prabowo with a military background, and Gibran, who is Jokowi’s son,” she told Al Jazeera.
Titi said the delivery of social assistance, known as bansos, and various populist programmes made voters at the grassroots level “feel like they had to vote for Prabowo-Gibran”.
“Prabowo is liked because he is considered a firm and nationalist leader. Meanwhile, Gibran is Jokowi’s son who has provided multiple [levels of] bansos so he is considered a figure who really cares about the people,” Titi said.
“Social assistance really influenced people’s choices and raised concerns that it would not continue if they did not choose Prabowo-Gibran,” she added.
“Moreover, there were a number of ministers who said social assistance came from Jokowi, and the people should be grateful to Jokowi.”
Pre-poll Q&A with Prabowo
Speaking to Al Jazeera on the last day of campaigning, Prabowo had also expressed confidence that there would not be a runoff.
“All the figures show that way … the grassroots enthusiasm. All the figures show that we will go in one round,” he told our Asia correspondent, Jessica Washington.
Asked about how he perceived Indonesia’s role on the global stage if he became president, he replied: “The good luck we inherited from our founding fathers is the philosophy of non-alignment.
“Indonesia respects all countries, respects all great powers. We want to have great relationships with everybody. We don’t want to be joining one bloc against another bloc. Our position is quite unique. We are friends with everybody. In any conflict or competition, we are the ones who can be accepted by all sides.”
Read more in this Q&A here.