Prabowo Subianto declares victory in Indonesia

Photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Public Domain

With votes still being counted, preliminary results show Indonesia’s defence minister Prabowo Subianto winning the presidency with 59% of the popular vote. His two rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo received 24% and 17% respectively. 

Prabowo was the outgoing President Widodo (also known as Jokowi)’s only opponent in the last two elections. As a member of the cabinet, he has based his recent campaign on promises to continue developing Jokowi’s existing policies. Jokowi has been accused of unfairly favouring his former rival’s campaign – an accusation exacerbated by Prabowo’s running mate Gibran Rakabuming, who is also Jokowi’s son. 

Despite the majority vote, not all are enthusiastic about these results, with main concerns stemming from Prabowo’s military past. He was a former son-in-law to Suharto, Indonesia’s second President, and served as lieutenant general during Suharto’s dictatorship. This dictatorship was marked by numerous human rights violations – most famously the mass killings of 1965-1966, when up to one million people were killed due to alleged association with the Communist Party of Indonesia. 

While these killings preceded his employment as lieutenant general, Prabowo has been personally accused of crimes during his service. According to some, Prabowo commanded forces which massacred more than 200 East-Timorese civilians in 1983, although there is no strong proof of his direct involvement.  There is, however, plenty of evidence showing that troops under Prabowo kidnapped and tortured democracy activists in 1998, just before the fall of Suharto’s regime.  

This seems to have been forgotten or deemed insignificant by most voters. During his campaign, Prabowo Subianto was portrayed as a “harmless grandpa.” This rebranding seems to have worked, especially among young people for whom Suharto’s rule is a distant past. According to exit polls, Gen Z make up the largest demographic among supporters  of the former general.

The other candidates have already called for parliament to look into supposed irregularities and voter intimidation during the election. However, experts believe it unlikely that the legislature will launch an inquiry. 

With Prabowo receiving congratulations from leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Rishi Sunak or Narendra Modi, his presidency seems to be all but confirmed.