Prabowo Subianto has been asked for unity, and his rivals have challenged the electoral results. A turbulent five-year stretch unfolds in Indonesia after the victory of a septuagenarian military man with a troubled past, while Jokowi, the country’s towering political figure, retires after two constitutional terms. The results from last month’s elections, released this Thursday by the General Elections Commission, align with what surveys had suggested: a sweeping victory for Prabowo with about 56 percent of the vote, effectively avoiding a second round.
“To everyone who did not vote for us, give us a chance. You will see that we will work as hard as possible for all Indonesian people”, Prabowo declared. Only about 25 percent of ballots went to Anies Baswedan, former rector and governor of Jakarta, while 16 percent went to Ganjar Pranowo, the former governor of Central Java and leader of the Democratic– struggles party.
Protests by the defeated have erupted in force around the Indonesian electoral scene. Prabowo himself stirred demonstrations after losing to Jokowi in a previous campaign, and those tumultuous days left eight people dead. The priority now is to prevent further unrest. More than 3,000 police officers were deployed this Thursday to the capital’s most sensitive points to head off disturbances tied to accusations of fraud that have fueled demonstrations in recent weeks. “A presidency born from a process marred by irregularities can only yield a regime with unjust policies”, one opponent argued. He and his defeated partner, Pranowo, have announced they will take irregularities to the courts.
Reforming the eligibility rules
Some of the complaints are understandable. Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming, was able to run as Prabowo’s running mate because a constitutional court reformed the career requirements. The court was chaired by Jokowi’s brother-in-law, a factor many view as an obvious manipulation. It did not seem coincidental that, in the run-up to the elections, the Government showered key regions with rice, fertilizer, cash, and other social aid. Accounting irregularities in some districts could not be ruled out either.
Such questions would matter in a closer result. With a landslide like this, they appear to be tantrums of a sore loser. The elections in the world’s third-largest democracy, a country of 240 million people spread across 17,000 islands and three time zones with infrastructure and technology to be improved, succeed remarkably in just one day. The logistical chaos is managed. The occasional misalignment is inevitable, but few doubt the fairness of the outcome.
Questions about Prabowo’s biography carry more weight for some observers. The son-in-law of the brutal dictator Suharto has been accused of various human rights abuses and was expelled in disgrace from the Army in 1998 for the kidnapping and torture of pro-democracy activists opposing his father-in-law. Thirteen of those activists remain missing. He has also been accused of human rights violations and massacres with hundreds of deaths in Papua and Timor-Leste. Prabowo denies the charges, seeking to soften his tougher image. His rhythmic party appearances and the youth’s admiration, who did not suffer under Suharto, have painted him in a more paternal light. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have warned about risks in a country that only recently made a marked democratic transition.
A grueling legislative term appears likely. Prabowo lacks Jokowi’s political capital to solidify alliances that could have yielded a large parliamentary majority. The strength of the Prabowo–Jokowi bond remains uncertain. A look at neighboring Philippines, where former dynasties have clashed, casts further doubt on the durability of such arrangements. Ferdinand Marcos with the son- or daughter-led presidency accelerated changes within two years; the pattern suggests that dynastic coalitions can unravel quickly when power shifts are tested.