Populist sits in poll position
JAKARTA: Indonesians have voted for a new president, and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto remains the clear frontrunner despite concerns over his human rights record and claims of improper support for him from outgoing leader Joko Widodo.
Polls project that Subianto, a military chief during the Suharto dictatorship, is on course to secure a majority over his rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo .
The 72-year-old is the clear favourite after a campaign mixing populist rhetoric with pledges to continue the policies of Widodo, who remains hugely popular but is required by the constitution to stand down after almost a decade in power.
Nearly 205 million people are eligible to vote and have cast votes at 820,000 polling stations for 10,000 candidates in the world’s third-largest democracy.
In Papua’s Timika city, officials inspected makeshift polling stations built from logs, metal sheets and palm leaves as voters arrived to eye candidate lists.
“I will vote for the one who would be the best to develop Papua,” 19-year-old Daton said in a region where separatists have waged a decades-long insurgency.
Subianto needs to claim more than 50 per cent of the vote and at least a fifth of ballots cast in over half the country’s 38 provinces to secure the presidency.
Former Jakarta governor Baswedan, widely seen as the favourite to challenge Subianto, was confident as polls opened. “Day by day I can feel the spirit for change is getting stronger,” he said.
Official results are expected in March.