(Timika) Nearly 205 million Indonesians are called to choose their next president on Wednesday from three candidates including the current Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto, with a controversial military past, is the favorite to succeed Joko Widodo, in power for a decade.
More than 800,000 polling stations will be open for just six hours, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., first in Papua, the easternmost province of the archipelago.
In addition to its president, Indonesia must elect 580 deputies and 20,000 regional and local representatives in a single day.
Although accused of human rights abuses under the Suharto dictatorship, at the end of the 1990s, Prabowo Subianto, a 72-year-old former general, could win in the first round.
“These are just attacks from opponents. I don’t want to hear anything bad from them,” testified Novita Agustina, 24, who came to support her favorite on Saturday in Jakarta.
With nearly 52% voting intentions, according to the latest polls, Prabowo Subianto is well ahead of Anies Baswedan, the former governor of Jakarta, and Ganjar Pranowo, former governor of Central Java, neck and neck for second. place.
If none of the three candidates obtains a majority, a second round will be held in June.
“We will fight to bring prosperity to all Indonesians,” promised Prabowo Subianto on Saturday during his final rally which brought together nearly 100,000 people in Jakarta. “We will continue what has already been built by previous presidents.”
Mr. Prabowo, who is running for the third time, has developed a nationalist and populist rhetoric and has pledged to continue the policies of the outgoing president, nicknamed Jokowi, who is suspected of having used state resources to try to influence the election in favor of his Minister of Defense.
As head of special forces, Mr Prabowo was accused by NGOs of ordering the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in the 1990s, towards the end of Suharto’s regime. He denied these accusations and was never prosecuted.
For allegations of human rights violations, the ex-soldier was deprived of a visa for a long time by the United States and Australia.
Softened image
But thanks in particular to a large presence on social networks, the man has softened his image among young Indonesians who often ignore the accusations against him and appreciate his commitment to continuing the policies of the very popular Jokowi.
Mr. Prabowo took off in the polls after being nominated alongside him for the post of vice president by Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, Jokowi’s eldest son.
Theoretically too young, Mr. Gibran was only able to run following a controversial decision by the Constitutional Court, adopted thanks to the decisive vote of the president of the court, Anwar Usman, who is none other than the handsome -brother of Joko Widodo.
After 10 years in power, the latter will leave to his successor a country which is experiencing constant growth, of 5.05% in 2023, certainly a slight decline compared to 5.3% in 2022.
If part of the population is sensitive to his nationalist discourse, the growing probability of Mr. Prabowo’s accession to the presidency does not fail to raise concerns about a possible setback in democratic gains.
Long left behind, Anies Baswedan is now a likely finalist in the event of a second round, thanks to his oppositional posture. He thus announced that he would oppose, in the event of victory, the transfer of the capital to Nusantara, on the island of Borneo.
Once considered a favorite, the third candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, is now behind but according to analysts, he could still catch up or play the role of kingmaker.
On this public holiday in Indonesia, presidential, legislative and local elections are being held together, one of the largest elections in the world, organized over a single day.
Estimates from the polls should give a reliable indication of the result the same evening. Official counts are not expected until March.