Indonesia readies for the Prabowo era

Given that his previous attempts at winning the Indonesian presidency floundered against the charisma of Mr Joko Widodo,

Mr Prabowo Subianto’s success this time around

is a nod to his perseverance and electoral pull. It also owes a great deal to the unstated hand of the outgoing President upon the shoulder of his former rival-turned-defence minister. That support came in the form of Mr Widodo’s son, 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who joined Mr Prabowo as running mate after a controversial court judgment cleared Mr Gibran’s eligibility to contest. The combination seemingly proved irresistible to a nation where the median age is just 30.  

Official results will be published in a few weeks, but quick-count tallies – which generally tend to be accurate – suggest that the Prabowo-Gibran pair may have polled close to 60 per cent of the votes, obviating the need for a run-off. Since Jokowi, as Mr Widodo is popularly known, is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle led by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose official candidate, former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, placed a dismal third, the vote for Gerindra Party leader Prabowo underscores Mr Widodo’s hold on national politics is above and beyond that of his party. The results therefore are mildly embarrassing for Ms Megawati, whose daughter once considered a presidential run.