With half of the ballots collected, Prabowo leads the Indonesian race by a significant majority

JAKARTA: With half of the ballots cast, election commission figures on Friday indicated that Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was expected to win the presidential race by a significant majority.

Although the official results are not due until late March, all early signs suggest that the 72-year-old former commander would be chosen to succeed the well-liked departing leader, Joko Widodo.
As of half of the votes have been tallied, the electoral commission’s website indicated that Prabowo had a dominant 56.89 percent of the total, more than double that of his closest competitor and sufficient for a majority in the first round.

On Friday morning, former governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan received 25.27 percent of the vote, while former governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo had 17.84 percent.

With reference to the general election commission, Prabowo posted on Instagram late Thursday, saying, “Thank God, we must be grateful and continue to monitor the KPU’s official results.”
The ferocious populist declared a “victory for all Indonesians” on Wednesday, citing early findings from government-approved pollsters that had previously been demonstrated to be trustworthy and indicating that he was expected to win a majority in the first round.

However, none of his opponents has conceded, saying instead that they will wait for the official results.
To formally win the president, Prabowo has to receive more than 50% of the total vote and at least 25% of the votes cast in more than half of the 38 provinces in the nation. Analysts predict he will win virtually certainly.

In his Instagram picture, which featured him holding a phone to his ear, the former general said that leaders of Singapore, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka had also phoned to congratulate him. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had also reportedly congratulated him.

The US, on the other hand, has been more circumspect, praising Indonesia’s voters for their “strong turnout” in an announcement that omitted Prabowo’s name.
The current leader, known as “Jokowi,” informed reporters on Thursday that he had seen Prabowo the night before and wanted to extend his “congratulations”.

Some commentators had accused him of supporting the candidacy of his former adversary and defense minister in an attempt to establish a political dynasty before to his departure from government.
cries out for justice

Prabowo’s running companion was Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, the oldest son of Jokowi.
Then-chief judge and Jokowi’s brother-in-law modified the regulations in October that prohibited under-40 candidates from seeking public office.

Jokowi has also come under fire from some observers for allegedly misusing public money to help Prabowo, who has denied any wrongdoing.
The team of Ganjar Pranowo, who came in third place in the polls, claimed to have discovered “systematic” fraud but did not provide any supporting documentation. Prabowo’s opponents in the election have vowed to look into any potential vote fraud.

“Don’t shout that it’s a scam. Bring any evidence of fraud to Bawaslu, the election oversight authority. “Take it to the Constitutional Court if there was fraud,” Jokowi told reporters on Thursday.
After the votes closed, Prabowo’s supporters celebrated outside his house and in a crowded stadium in Jakarta’s capital, while campaigners whose children had been slain or abducted by the military in the 1990s opposed his victory.

More than a hundred demonstrators gathered late on Thursday outside the presidential palace, waving a banner that said “save democracy,” blowing whistles, and holding up yellow cards.
NGOs and his previous employers charge Prabowo of directing the kidnapping of democracy advocates at the conclusion of dictator Suharto’s three-decade dictatorship. Although Prabowo was

let go, he has never been indicted and has denied any wrongdoing.
Over a dozen are missing from the map.

One of them is Ucok, the son of Paian Siahaan, who vanished during the latter months of Suharto’s reign, when Prabowo was a high-ranking official. When he left for a demonstration at the age of 22, he never returned.

“After watching the campaigns and debates, this is beyond anything we could have predicted. We didn’t think he would win by this much,” the 77-year-old said.
“So we are consoling each other.”