Indonesia set for last major rallies as election campaign draws to close
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JAKARTA - Indonesia's presidential contenders are gearing up for their last major rallies on Feb 10 to fire up their bases and sway undecided voters, as campaigning draws to a close ahead of the world's biggest single-day election next week.
Candidates will enter a cooling off period on Feb 11 until the big day on Feb 14.
Three contestants are in the running to succeed the hugely popular President Joko Widodo, who has led Indonesia for a decade and cannot run again.
The election in the world's third-largest democracy is between two popular former governors, Mr Ganjar Pranowo and Mr Anies Baswedan, and ex-special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, who has soared in opinion polls with the tacit backing of the president, and the incumbent's son as his running mate.
At stake is the leadership for the next five years of a mineral-rich G-20 economy of 270 million people positioning itself as a future destination for multinational firms in downstream industries.
More than 20,000 legislative and administrative posts will also be decided next week, contested by 259,000 candidates.
The biggest party's Mr Ganjar will be seeking to shore up his support in Central Java, which he served for two decades as a governor and lawmaker, while Mr Anies, an independent candidate who was governor of the capital from 2017 to 2022, will hold his rally at the city's biggest stadium.
Defence Minister Prabowo is contesting his third successive election and holds his rally at another stadium in Jakarta. He is hoping to convert his big social media following among young Indonesians into votes.
More than half of Indonesia's 204.8 million electorate is under 40.
Survey boost
Mr Prabowo was given a boost on Feb 9 when the latest opinion poll by Indikator Politik Indonesia projected him scoring a majority
A run-off will be held in June if no candidate gets more than 50 per cent of votes.
Mr Anies was the preferred candidate of 24.1 per cent of respondents, while 19.6 per cent opted for Mr Ganjar.
About 4.5 per cent of respondents were undecided.
Undecided voters could be critical to former academic Mr Anies and the populist Mr Ganjar to force a second round between the top two finishers, a scenario that could significantly change the dynamic of the presidential race.
Mr Arya Fernandes of Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International Studies said a good turnout was vital if Mr Prabowo aims to win outright next week.
"It depends on whether Prabowo can ensure that his loyalists show up to the polls," he said.
Mr Prabowo has undergone a rebrand to try to shed his reputation as a hot-tempered nationalist and feared lieutenant of the late strongman ruler Suharto, now cultivating a more gentle image as a cat-loving grandfather with clumsy dancing.
But Mr Arya believes his rise in popularity is about him riding on the implied support of the president, better known as Jokowi, whose allies regard former rival Prabowo as the continuity candidate.
"There are no other explanations besides the effect of Jokowi's political support," Mr Arya said. REUTERS
