Indonesia election: Jokowi and Prabowo both claim upper hand as polls close
- Incumbent President Joko Widodo and his challenger Prabowo Subianto both say they’re optimistic about winning
- Both candidates have resorted to identity politics, mainly surrounding religion, while campaigning in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation
Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, was expected to go to the home of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, his political patron and chairwoman of the party backing him to await quick count results expected from 3pm local time.
Prabowo, his running mate Sandiaga Uno and their campaign staff hunkered down at the former’s home in south Jakarta.
Over six hours, tens of millions of Indonesians headed to 809,000 polling stations across the archipelago to cast their ballot for their next president and new legislators.
Voting for the 192 million registered voters proceeded smoothly despite complaints of delays at some polling stations. In two districts in restive Papua province, voting was postponed to Thursday as ballot slips were not ready in time.