Indonesia to declare winner in presidential race

After an ugly presidential election campaign, Indonesia is set to declare the winner tomorrow - but that may not settle the dispute between the two candidates, both of whom claim victory.

Unofficial counts by eight polling agencies of the July 9 election have given Joko Widodo, the popular and sneaker-wearing former governor of Jakarta, a slim lead.

But Prabowo Subianto, a former general with a chequered human rights record who has drawn voters with his thundering nationalistic rhetoric, insists he has polling data showing he has won, raising speculation that he might may not accept the results if he loses.

Fadli Zon, vice secretary general of Prabowo's Gerindra party, said they had evidence of many instances of cheating.

"We ask the election committee to solve this problem with recounting," Zon said. "We will not accept [the result]," he said, adding that the announcement should be delayed until the problem had been resolved.

The tension could threaten Indonesia's fragile transition to democracy 16 years after it emerged from the long and brutal Suharto dictatorship. The country of 240 million is experiencing a slowing economy - the largest in Southeast Asia - and needs leadership to tackle a rapidly crumbling infrastructure.