Rival Indonesian candidates claim election victory

Joko Widodo, the reformist governor of Jakarta, and Prabowo Subianto, a self-styled military strongman, both declared victory in yesterday’s tightly contested Indonesian presidential election.

After a bitterly fought campaign that pitched Indonesia’s old and new guard against each other, both men said that “quick counts” – based on samples of votes cast – showed they had won the race.

Outgoing president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is stepping down in October after reaching the limit of two terms in office, called on both sides to “restrain themselves”, avoid violence and not celebrate until the election commission releases the official results, which are due by July 22nd.

Indonesian voters were faced with a stark choice between the Jakarta governor, who is liked by many for his down-to-earth style, record of reforms in city government and corruption-free reputation, and Mr Subianto, a wealthy former general who has been plagued by allegations of past human rights abuses.

Agency results

Analysts said most reliable survey agencies showed Mr Widodo winning the two-horse race by 3-4 percentage points. But Mr Subianto’s team pointed to counts by less well-known organisations suggesting he had won by 1-4 percentage points.

Quick counts have proved accurate at predicting the outcome of previous elections in Indonesia, which is the world’s third-biggest democracy.

Paul Rowland, a political analyst in Jakarta, said: “The polling agencies with a record of accurately calling other presidential and legislative elections are showing that Mr Widodo won. We will have to wait for the full count to know for sure and we can expect a tense situation until then.”

Aaron Connelly, a southeast Asia researcher at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, agreed that while most objective observers believed Mr Widodo had won, “Mr Subianto has every right to wait for the final count and to contest the decision in the constitutional court”.

On a highly charged day, with the military on alert for violence, Mr Widodo was first to claim victory.

– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)