Jakarta, Feb 14 (EFE).- Former General Prabowo Subianto, accused of human rights violations during his time as a military officer, celebrated his victory in Wednesday’s presidential elections in Indonesia, according to voting projections while official results were still awaited.
The projections were based on partial recounts by different survey firms, which determined that the former army officer had won around 60 percent of the vote.
Prabowo, addressing a mass rally after the projections, said all the provisional counts indicate that he won in the first round itself and dedicated his victory to all Indonesians.
Projections also determined around 24 percent of the vote for former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and 16 percent for former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, aged 54 and 55, respectively.
Prabowo, 72, stressed on the need for gratitude and humility, recalling that the final result from the Election Commission was still awaited.
With more than 50 percent of the vote, Prabowo is projected to become the president for the next five years of Indonesia, the country with the most number of Muslims in the world and also a part of the Group of 20 largest economies (G20).
The vote count began after the polling stations were closed, following an election in which some 205 million Indonesians were eligible to vote for a replacement for outgoing President Joko Widodo.
Projections, which extrapolate results from a sample of votes, is a system that has proven to be very efficient in elections in the past.
Official results can take up to 35 days to be made public, the maximum time allowed by law.
Voting happened without major incidents, although it was affected by rains in some places. Polling stations were open between 7am and 1pm along the three time zones of the country.
Widodo, who cannot stand for re-election because of a two-term limit set by the Constitution, has unofficially ed Prabowo, who has allied with vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 36-year-old son of the outgoing president.
This alliance has sparked accusations against Widodo for allegedly trying to create a political dynasty.
Former General Prabowo, currently serving as defense minister, was accused of human rights violations during his military career between 1970 and 1998.
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, and garner the of the youth. EFE
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