Prabowo secures Indonesia’s presidential seat with 59% of votes

Indonesia's front-runner presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto gives a speech after the announcement of the presidential election result, in Jakarta

Indonesia's front-runner presidential candidate and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto gestures as he delivers his speech after the country's election commission announced last month's presidential election result, in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 20, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Source: REUTERS

Indonesia’s Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto has officially been declared the winner of the February 14, 2024, presidential elections with 59% of votes.

Indonesia’s election commission chief Hasyim Asy'ari in a livestream on Wednesday announced the resounding win of Prabowo over rivals Anies Baswedan who received about 25% of the votes, and Ganjar Pranowo, who received 16%.

The official tally of the election commission confirms the unofficial results released by independent pollsters last month.

Prabowo is expected to take over from outgoing President Joko Widodo in October. He won on promises of continuing the legacies of President Widodo, known as Jokowi, who is very popular in the country. Prabowo also tapped the support of Indonesia’s young voter population by using social media platforms like TikTok to campaign.

Immediately after the election commission's announcement, Prabowo delivered a speech in Jakarta expressing gratitude to Indonesians for voting him into office.

Prabowo’s running mate, Jokowi's 36-year-old son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is set to become vice president.

Indonesia's biggest party PDI-P received the most votes in the legislative elections, followed by the Golkar Party and Prabowo's Gerindra Party in third place, the election commission announced.

Ismail Akwei