JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto has been elected president of the world’s third-biggest democracy, the elections commission said Wednesday, beating two rivals who have vowed to file legal complaints about the vote.
The fiery defense minister and his vice presidential running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka — eldest son of outgoing leader Joko Widodo — already declared victory last month after unofficial counts showed them winning a majority.
They were officially confirmed as winners Wednesday after receiving more than 96 million votes, commission chairman Hasyim Asy’ari said, roughly 58.6 percent of the total and enough to secure a first-round majority.
“This decision is effective immediately as of March 20,” Asy’ari said.
Anies Baswedan secured 24.9 percent of the vote, while Ganjar Pranowo received more than 16 percent.
More than 164 million Indonesians voted, representing around an 80 percent turnout of eligible voters.
Prabowo, 72, was widely predicted to win the presidency on his third attempt. He takes over in October after a transition period.
Speaking outside his house in the capital Jakarta to thunderous applause from supporters, Prabowo thanked Indonesians and his party for helping him rise to the country’s highest office.
“We are grateful to the God Almighty for the official announcement from the KPU on the results of the election,” he said, referring to the elections commission.
“We would like to convey our gratitudes and the highest appreciation for all the people of Indonesia who have exercised their rights to vote.”
His popularity soared because of what experts said was his nationalist verve in populist speeches, strongman credentials as defense minister and backing from Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi.
Prabowo also offered his thanks to Jokowi, his former rival against whom he lost two election battles in 2014 and 2019.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken quickly offered “sincere congratulations” to Prabowo, saying Washington looked “forward to partnering closely” with the ex-general, who was once placed on a US visa blacklist.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed his congratulations, saying in a statement that he looked forward “to deepening our strategic partnership even further” on issues like climate change.
Prabowo’s rivals, former Jakarta governor Anies and former Central Java governor Ganjar, have vowed to submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court about allegations of election irregularities and fraud.
Anies confirmed after results were announced that he would file a complaint to the court.
“A leader that was born out of a process tainted by cheating and violations will result in a regime that will produce policies that are full of unfairness, and we don’t want this to happen,” he said in a statement.
But Prabowo’s legal team is confident the result will not be successfully challenged because of his wide margin of victory, local media reported Tuesday.
Last month Indonesia held one of the world’s biggest single-day elections featuring hundreds of thousands of candidates vying for the presidency, parliamentary seats and local legislator positions.
After failing as a vice presidential candidate in 2009 and presidential candidate in 2014 and 2019, Prabowo rode to victory this time with Jokowi’s support.
The campaign was punctuated by accusations of ethical violations and interference by Jokowi, who critics said manoeuvered to install a political dynasty through his son before leaving office.
“Jokowi is the X factor that heavily influenced Prabowo’s victory,” said Firman Noor, politics professor at the National Research and Innovation Agency.
He has also tried to please Prabowo, experts say, by making him an honorary four-star general as the outgoing leader bids to keep his influence under the new administration.
Indonesia’s next president has also weathered allegations from rights groups and his former bosses that he played a role in the disappearance of student activists in the late 1990s at the end of dictator Suharto’s rule.
Between 1997 and 1998, when some kidnappings took place, Subianto led the elite army force known as Kopassus, used by Jakarta for special operations aimed at tamping down internal unrest. More than a dozen activists were never found.
He was discharged from the military over the kidnappings but has denied direct responsibility and the accusations appeared to have little impact on his electoral hopes this time.
Prabowo will inherit Southeast Asia’s largest economy, which is enjoying around five percent growth annually.
There is voter optimism about the economy with Prabowo’s pledge to carry on Jokowi’s resource nationalism that seeks to turn Indonesia into a global nickel powerhouse.
Others are less sure about the security of the country’s young democracy.
“I see the future of democracy becoming even bleaker during Prabowo’s time,” said Hurriyah, director of the University of Indonesia’s Center for Political Studies.
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Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto wins presidency with first-round majority
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Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto wins presidency with first-round majority
- Fiery defense minister and his vice presidential running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka — eldest son of outgoing leader Joko Widodo — already declared victory last month
- Prabowo also offered his thanks to Jokowi, his former rival against whom he lost two election battles in 2014 and 2019
Senate to question military leaders on Trump’s National Guard deployments
- Hearing expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments
- National Guard deployments in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors
WASHINGTON: Senators for the first time are poised to question military leaders over President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities, an extraordinary move that has prompted legal challenges as well as questions about states’ rights and the use of the military on US soil.
The hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors.
The hearing will bring the highest level of scrutiny to Trump’s use of the National Guard outside of a courtroom since the deployments began and comes a day after the president faced another legal setback over his muscular use of troops in larger federal operations.
Trump has justified the use of the military in American cities by saying the National Guard is needed to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said is long overdue.
“Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nation’s service members under misleading if not false pretexts,” Duckworth told The Associated Press.
Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Illinois National Guard, said domestic deployments have traditionally involved responding to major floods and tornadoes, not assisting immigration agents who are detaining people in aggressive raids.
Duckworth said she has questions for the military about how Trump’s deployments are affecting readiness, training and costs. She also wants to know if Guard members will have legal protections if an immigration agent wrongfully harms a civilian.
“I’m deeply concerned that our nation’s military is being put in jeopardy by these policies,” Duckworth said.
The hearing comes two weeks after two West Virginia National Guard members deployed to Washington were shot just blocks from the White House in what the city’s mayor described as a targeted attack. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died a day after the Nov. 26 shooting, and her funeral took place Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is still hospitalized in Washington.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in California on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration must stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state.
US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials, but also put the decision on hold until Monday. The White House said it plans to appeal.
Trump called up more than 4,000 California National Guard troops in June without Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval to further the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
The move was the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor and marked a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to carry out its mass deportation policy. The troops were stationed outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where protesters gathered and later sent on the streets to protect immigration officers as they made arrests.
The number had dropped to several hundred by late October. The 100 or so California troops that remain in Los Angeles are guarding federal buildings or staying at a nearby base and are not on the streets with immigration enforcement officers, according to US Northern Command.
Trump also had announced National Guard members would be sent to Washington, D.C., Illinois, Oregon, Louisiana and Tennessee. Other judges have blocked or limited the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, while Guard members have not yet been sent to New Orleans.
The hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors.
The hearing will bring the highest level of scrutiny to Trump’s use of the National Guard outside of a courtroom since the deployments began and comes a day after the president faced another legal setback over his muscular use of troops in larger federal operations.
Trump has justified the use of the military in American cities by saying the National Guard is needed to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said is long overdue.
“Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nation’s service members under misleading if not false pretexts,” Duckworth told The Associated Press.
Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Illinois National Guard, said domestic deployments have traditionally involved responding to major floods and tornadoes, not assisting immigration agents who are detaining people in aggressive raids.
Duckworth said she has questions for the military about how Trump’s deployments are affecting readiness, training and costs. She also wants to know if Guard members will have legal protections if an immigration agent wrongfully harms a civilian.
“I’m deeply concerned that our nation’s military is being put in jeopardy by these policies,” Duckworth said.
The hearing comes two weeks after two West Virginia National Guard members deployed to Washington were shot just blocks from the White House in what the city’s mayor described as a targeted attack. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died a day after the Nov. 26 shooting, and her funeral took place Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is still hospitalized in Washington.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in California on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration must stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state.
US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials, but also put the decision on hold until Monday. The White House said it plans to appeal.
Trump called up more than 4,000 California National Guard troops in June without Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval to further the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
The move was the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor and marked a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to carry out its mass deportation policy. The troops were stationed outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where protesters gathered and later sent on the streets to protect immigration officers as they made arrests.
The number had dropped to several hundred by late October. The 100 or so California troops that remain in Los Angeles are guarding federal buildings or staying at a nearby base and are not on the streets with immigration enforcement officers, according to US Northern Command.
Trump also had announced National Guard members would be sent to Washington, D.C., Illinois, Oregon, Louisiana and Tennessee. Other judges have blocked or limited the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, while Guard members have not yet been sent to New Orleans.
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