Politics

Indonesia prepares to vote with controversial ex-general favorite for president

Jakarta, Feb 13 (EFE).- Indonesia prepares to hold presidential elections on Wednesday with some 205 million registered voters, with controversial former general and current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto as the favorite to win in the third largest democracy.

Surveys indicate Prabowo as the most likely to become the next president in alliance with Gibran Rakabuming Raka, candidate for vice president and son of current head of state, Joko Widodo.

The other presidential hopefuls are former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo to lead the Southeast Asian country of more than 7,000 islands and with the largest number of Muslims.

Besides the president and the vice president, voters will also elect 580 members of the lower house, 152 members of the upper house, 2,372 provincial representatives and 17,510 others at the municipal level.

Prabowo, 72, lost the 2014 and 2019 elections to Widodo, who cannot contest again due to a two-term limit set by the Constitution.

During his second term as president, Widodo had appointed his former rival as defense minister.

The former general, expelled for disobedience from the Army in 1998, has been accused of a long list of human rights violations since he was stationed as a soldier in East Timor, which was occupied by Indonesia between 1976 and 1999.

As head of the eliteKopassus forces (1995-1998), the former general was allegedly involved in retaliatory campaigns against civilians in the Papua region and in the abduction of activists during the protests against the Suharto regime in 1998.

Prabowo, who was the son-in-law of dictator Suharto (1968-1998), denies most of the accusations against him.

In an image makeover, Prabowo has conducted a campaign in which his dances in TikTok have captivated millions of young people coming to be called “cute grandfather,” despite his controversial past.

But the ultimate boost to his campaign has been his alliance with the 36-year-old Gibran, which has attracted the vote of Widodo’s supporters, as the incumbent president maintains an approval rating of around 80 percent.

However, the president, also known as Jokowi, has been criticized for allegedly trying to create a political dynasty by backing his son.

Gibran’s political aspirations also required the Constitutional Court to approve an exception to the minimum age of 40 for candidates, provided they have political experience, which works in favor of Widodo’s son.

Around 52 percent of voters are between 17 and 40 years old, meaning that youth support will be decisive in these elections.

Young Indonesians are seen to be concerned about employment, the quality of social services, corruption and the climate crisis, among other issues.

However, Mada Sukmajati, who teaches politics at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia, underlined that many of the Indonesian youth were unaware of Prabowo’s controversial career or simply viewed it as something of the past.

Prabowo and Gibran, if they win the election, are expected to continue Widodo’s economic policy of infrastructure investments, attracting foreign investment – a large part of it from China – and the project of building a new capital, Nusantara.

Except during the years of the pandemic, Indonesia has witnessed an average five percent growth per year, propelled by the digital sector.

Widodo has also looked to boost the nickel industry, a key mineral for the development of electric vehicles, and aimed to start producing batteries locally.

However, Indonesia also faces problems such as poverty, which still affects more than nine percent of the population, the lack of rights among minorities such as the LGTBI community and climate challenges including deforestation and pollution. EFE

Related Articles

Back to top button