Indonesia’s ‘kingmaker’ Joko Widodo leaves indelible mark on nation with Prabowo Subianto win

Name: Prabowo Subianto declares victory in Indonesian election as early counts give him 58% of votes
Uploaded: 2024-02-15T10:30:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 9 s
Description: Prabowo Subianto declares victory in Indonesian election as early counts give him 58% of votes

Widodo’s pragmatic approach created a stable political climate and economic growth, but critics say democracy and human rights have regressed under his rule

Widodo likely to have ‘plan up his sleeve’ after backing his son Gibran and former general Prabowo Subianto’s winning ticket, analysts say

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A photo of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) shaking hands with presidential elect Prabowo Subianto is displayed on a large screen during Subianto’s campaign rally at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on February 10. Photo: AP

Resty Woro Yuniar

Published: 6:30pm, 15 Feb 2024Updated: 7:46pm, 15 Feb 2024

Indonesia’s elections concluded on Wednesday with two clear winners, president-elect Prabowo Subianto and a new kingmaker, outgoing President Joko Widodo.

Widodo, who will hand the presidency over to Prabowo on October 20, is barred by the constitution from a third term, but his influence will still be in play through his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Indonesia’s vice-president-elect, making his clan the new guard in the world’s third-largest democracy, analysts said.

“Of all the political actors who exist [in Indonesia today], you could say that Jokowi is currently the new kingmaker. We don’t know what Jokowi will do in the future, but so far Jokowi has the strongest capacity to [influence] the government for the next five years,” said Ahmad Rizky Umar, lecturer at the School of Political Science and International Studies at Australia’s University of Queensland, using Widodo’s popular nickname.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto greets supporters in Medan at a rally on January 13. Photo: AP

According to quick count results from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia, Prabowo and Gibran won 58.4 per cent of the vote, more than the 50 per cent threshold required to win and avoid a run-off vote.

“This is proof [Widodo] is indeed a very popular president, so he can influence the election,” said Made Supriatma, researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

By backing the winning pair, Widodo has also shown that he can trump over the country’s top power brokers, particularly his former political matriarch, Megawati Sukarnoputri, chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and a former president.

PDI-P’s presidential candidate, former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, earned just 16.7 per cent of Wednesday’s vote, languishing behind opposition candidate Anies Baswedan, who received 24.8 per cent.

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Prabowo Subianto declares victory in Indonesian election as early counts give him 58% of votes