Indonesia’s Prabowo confident of winning presidential vote in single round

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s leading presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said he is confident of winning this week’s election in a single round to lead the world’s third-largest democracy, Al Jazeera news channel reported on its website.

Mr Prabowo, a former special forces commander, is one of

three candidates contesting the Feb 14 election.

A candidate needs a simple majority, or more than 50 per cent of votes, and at least 20 per cent of votes in over half the country’s provinces to win. Barring this, a run-off between the top two candidates would be held in June.

Mr Prabowo, 72, is projected by some opinion surveys to pip the 50 per cent threshold, though the chance of a second round lingers.

His rivals, former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, trail more than 20 points behind him.

“All the figures show that we will go in one round,” Mr Prabowo, who is currently Defence Minister, told Al Jazeera after a rally that attracted hundreds of thousands of supporters in the capital Jakarta on Feb 10, the last day of campaigning.

He also defended running with outgoing President Joko Widodo’s 36-year-old son, something made possible only in October when a top court led by the President’s brother-in-law tweaked eligibility criteria for vice-presidential candidates.

“In Indonesia, it has become some sort of an issue, not because he is under 40 but because he is the son of President Joko Widodo, which makes some circles feel bad. But that’s politics. You cannot please everyone all the time,” Mr Prabowo said.

Mr Jokowi, as the President is popularly known, has faced allegations of interfering to try to sway the outcome of the election by making highly publicised appearances with Mr Prabowo.

Mr Jokowi has responded that a president has the right to support any candidate, while saying he did not plan to campaign for anyone. REUTERS