• Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
ABOUT
Advertise in GAT
Contact us
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Georgia Asian Times
International Insurance of Georgia
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Georgia Asian Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
Home Headline

Indonesia’s Widodo looks set for election victory – his challenger says no

Georgia Asian Times by Georgia Asian Times
April 17, 2019
in Headline, Misc Asia
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Jakarta, April 17, 2019 – Indonesian President Joko Widodo appeared set for a second term as “quick count” results from Wednesday’s election rolled in, but his challenger claimed that he had won the popular vote and urged supporters not to let his victory be snatched away.

Data from private pollsters based on counts of vote samples were in line with opinion polls that had predicted a win for Widodo, a former furniture businessman and low-key reformist.

They showed him winning the popular vote with about 54 percent, with a lead of between 7.1 and 11.6 percentage points over former general Prabowo Subianto, who was narrowly defeated when he took Widodo on in the last election five years ago.

Prabowo, a former son-in-law of military strongman Suharto who was overthrown in 1998, told a news conference that – based on internal exit polls and “quick count” numbers – his campaign believed his share of the vote was in a 52-54 percent range.

AD: High Museum of Atlanta AD: High Museum of Atlanta

“We have noted several incidents that have harmed the supporters of this ticket,” he said, without giving detail. “Our volunteers should focus on safeguarding the ballot boxes because they are key to our victory.”

Widodo said the results indicated he had regained the presidency of the world’s fourth-most-populous nation, but urged supporters to wait for the election commission to announce official results.

Kevin O’Rourke, a political analyst and author of the Indonesia-focused newsletter Reformasi Weekly, said that Widodo’s re-election was now clear but his victory over 67-year-old Prabowo was not resounding.

“He failed to attain the psychological 60 percent level that had seemed within reach,” O’Rourke said. “Prabowo performed better than expected, which may embolden him to run yet again in 2024, if he is sufficiently fit.”

Widodo grew up in a riverside slum and was the first national leader to come from outside the political and military elite. Popularly known as Jokowi, his everyman image resonated in 2014 with voters tired of the old guard.

The eight-hour vote on Wednesday for both the presidency and legislature seats across a country that stretches more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from its western to eastern tips was both a Herculean logistical feat and testimony to the resilience of democracy two decades after authoritarianism was defeated.

The poll followed a campaign dominated by economic issues but was also marked by the growing influence of conservative Islam in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

A senior government official close to the president said before the election that a win for Widodo with 52-55 percent of the vote would be a “sweet spot”, and enough of a mandate to press on with, and even accelerate, reforms.

‘NO BURNING’

The official election results will not be published until May. Any disputes can be taken to the Constitutional Court where a nine-judge panel will have 14 days to rule on them.

More than 10,000 volunteers crowd-sourced results posted at polling stations in a real-time bid to thwart attempts at fraud.

However, even before the election, the opposition alleged voter-list irregularities that it said could affect millions and vowed legal or “people power” action if its concerns were ignored.

Ferdinand Hutahaen, a spokesman for the Prabowo campaign, sought to soothe concerns this could mean a violent response.

“Don’t consider ‘people power’ as a form of violence,” he told reporters. “There will be no burning, killing. We will see what kind of ‘people power’ and revolution society wants. We don’t want conflict in this country.”

Widodo campaigned on his record of deregulation and improving infrastructure, calling his first term a step to tackling inequality and poverty in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

But religion has also been a factor. Conservative Muslim groups have been increasingly influential.

Widodo, a moderate Muslim from Java island, had to burnish his Islamic credentials after smear campaigns and hoax stories accused him of being anti-Islam, a communist or too close to China, all politically damaging in Indonesia. He picked Islamic cleric Ma’ruf Amin, 76, as his running mate.

Prabowo, a former special forces commander who has links to some hardline Muslim groups, and his running mate, business entrepreneur Sandiaga Uno, pledged to boost the economy by slashing taxes and cutting food prices. – Reuters

Previous Post

Fire wrecks Notre-Dame Cathedral, centuries-old Parisian landmark

Next Post

Foxconn’s Gou announces bid to run in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential race

Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times

Related Posts

North Korea spy satellite launch fails as rocket falls into the sea
Misc Asia

North Korea spy satellite launch fails as rocket falls into the sea

May 31, 2023
New Chinese ambassador to US taking office amid disputes over trade, access to technology, Taiwan
Misc Asia

New Chinese ambassador to US taking office amid disputes over trade, access to technology, Taiwan

May 24, 2023
Thailand’s victorious progressive Move Forward Party, 7 allies agree on coalition platform
Misc Asia

Thailand’s victorious progressive Move Forward Party, 7 allies agree on coalition platform

May 23, 2023
South Korea to send 21-member team to Japan to review discharge plans at Fukushima nuclear plant
Misc Asia

South Korea to send 21-member team to Japan to review discharge plans at Fukushima nuclear plant

May 19, 2023
Thailand’s opposition parties, after stunning election win, set plans to enlist allies to take power
Misc Asia

Thailand’s opposition parties, after stunning election win, set plans to enlist allies to take power

May 15, 2023
ASEAN leaders condemn attack on aid convoy in Myanmar
Misc Asia

ASEAN leaders condemn attack on aid convoy in Myanmar

May 10, 2023
Next Post

Foxconn's Gou announces bid to run in Taiwan's 2020 presidential race

Signup Free E-Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Jun 12
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Kalayaan Atlanta 20023

Jul 14
6:00 pm - 10:30 pm

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia 2023

View Calendar
Logo

 

CONTACT US

Follow Us

MOST INFLUENTIAL

2023 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia

2023 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia

April 30, 2023
GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

July 18, 2022

Video highlights of GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia

July 17, 2022

LINKS OF INTEREST

ATL Asian Film Festival

     

GAT AAPI SUMMIT 2023

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise in GAT
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

  • Honoree

    $225.00
    Select
  • Single Seat

    $250.00
    Select
  • Table of 8

    $2,000.00
    Select
Loading
Loading
Loading
Loading
Loading
Register for FREE to read the rest of this article, or log in to your account.

    Or Login Here :

    [loginfrm]

    Are you sure want to unlock this post?
    Unlock left : 0
    Are you sure want to cancel subscription?