Elections in Indonesia: 200 million voters and a controversial former general as the favorite

In one of the largest elections in the world, some 205 million people vote tomorrow to elect the next president of Indonesiathe third largest democracy and the country with the largest number of Muslims, with the controversial former general and Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto as the favorite.

According to polls, Prabowo has the best chance of becoming the next president in alliance with Gibran Rakabuming Raka, vice presidential candidate and son of the current head of state, Joko Widodo.

The other presidential contenders are former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo.

Some 205 million Indonesians are called to vote to elect the president, the vice president, 580 members of the Lower House, 152 of the Upper House, 2,372 provincial representatives and 17,510 at the municipal level.

These are the main keys to these general elections in this country of more than 7,000 islands and a cultural diversity with more than 700 languages ​​spoken throughout this archipelago located along the equator in Southeast Asia.

Prabowo, the former general with a dark past

Prabowo, 72, lost the 2014 and 2019 elections to Widodo, who cannot run for re-election by law and who appointed his former rival as defense minister in his second term.

The former general, expelled from the Army for disobedience 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 elite Kopassus forces (1995-1998), the former general allegedly participated in retaliation campaigns against civilians in the Papua region and in the kidnapping of activists during protests against the Suharto regime in 1998.

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

Widodo’s dynasty

In an image wash, Prabowo has carried out a campaign in which his dances on TikTok have captivated millions of young people, becoming called “endearing grandpa”despite its controversial past.

But the definitive boost to his campaign has been his alliance with Gibran, 36, which has attracted the vote of Widodo’s supporters, who maintains an approval rating of around 80%.

However, the president, also known as Jokowi, has been criticized for allegedly trying to create a political dynasty through 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 fits the profile of Widodo’s son.

The importance of the young vote

52% of voters are between 17 and 40 years old, so the young vote will be decisive in these elections.

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

However, Mada Sukmajati, professor of Politics and Government at Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University, points out that many young Indonesians are unaware of Prabowo’s controversial career or simply think it is something of the past.

A growing economy

It is foreseeable that Prabowo and Gibran, if they win the elections, will continue Widodo’s economic policy, which was based on investments in infrastructure, attracting foreign investment (much of it from China) and the new capital project, Nusantara.

Except during the years of the pandemic, Indonesia has grown by 5% on average annually with great growth in the digital sector, with companies such as the giant GoTo, which was born from the union of Tokopedia (e-commerce) and Gojek (transport and customer service). home).

Widodo has also promoted the nickel industry, a key mineral for the development of electric vehicles, and hopes that the country will begin to produce batteries locally.

However, Indonesia also faces problems such as poverty, which still affects more than 9% of the population, the lack of rights among minorities such as LGTBI community and climate challenges including deforestation and pollution.