Prabowo vs Widodo: what makes general think Indonesian election will be a case of second time lucky?
General Prabowo Subianto will again challenge Joko Widodo in Indonesia’s presidental election – but economic jitters, dirty tricks and an emphasis on religion are no guarantee of a different result this time around
The former special forces general and presidential candidate in Indonesia’s last election, Prabowo Subianto, will make another bid for the top job when the country goes to the polls next year to choose its head of state.
A formal announcement is not expected until next month at the earliest. Even so, top officials at Prabowo’s party, the Great Indonesian Movement Party, or Gerindra, said they have begun preparations early in a bid to better organise the vast and unwieldy campaign machinery needed to woo a majority of Indonesia’s 185 million voters. The preparations are also intended to avoid what they claim were irregularities that cost them the election in 2014.
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“He’s running,” said Fadli Zon, the deputy speaker in Indonesia’s parliament and the vice-chairman for Gerindra.
“We are confident this time. There were widespread irregularities and the result was close. Our preparation this time will be enough.”
A three-star general, who is accused of human rights abuses in East Timor in 1983 and during the anti-Chinese riots in 1998 that ousted his former father-in-law, the dictator Suharto, his candidacy will be a hard sell. In 2014, he lost decidedly as President Joko Widodo tapped into disgust over corruption and poor services.
This time Prabowo, who declined to be quoted for this article, is betting a slower economy will propel him to victory, his senior aides said.