Jokowi Declared Winner of Indonesia Vote as Rival Rejects Result
Widodo, known as Jokowi, won 55.5 percent of the national vote, compared to his challenger Prabowo Subianto.
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo won last month’s election by a double-digit margin, official results showed Tuesday, an outcome rejected by his rival who threatened a legal challenge amid threats of protests by his supporters.
Widodo, known as Jokowi, won 55.5% of the national vote, compared to his challenger Prabowo Subianto’s 44.5%, the General Elections Commission said in Jakarta early on Tuesday. Jokowi’s margin of victory was almost double his 2014 result against the same opponent, the data showed. The tally also confirmed unofficial quick counts from about a dozen independent pollsters.
Jokowi, 57, is expected to be sworn in for his second five-year tenure on Oct. 20.
Prabowo, as Subianto is commonly known, said he “completely rejected” the result as the commission had made no effort to address complaints of election irregularities. The former general has repeatedly claimed victory, citing his own team’s survey of votes. Plans by his supporters to hold protest rallies prompted authorities to lock down parts of the capital, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
A candidate can challenge the result in the nation’s Constitutional Court, Chairman Arief Budiman told reporters. Prabowo, flanked by his running mate Sandiaga Uno, said in a televised address on Tuesday the pair will take legal action “to defend the sovereignty of the people, whose constitutional rights were robbed in the 2019 elections.”
The result should allow Jokowi to focus on steps to shield Southeast Asia’s largest economy from an escalating U.S.-China trade war that’s threatening to hurt growth and fuel a trade deficit. The nation’s stocks, bonds and the currency have all slumped in the past month as foreign investors grew concerned over the economic growth outlook. But on Tuesday, the Jakarta Composite Index jumped as much as 1.5% and is set for the biggest two-day gain since November 2018.
Religious Divide
More than 45,000 armed police are guarding the main offices of the General Elections Commission and the Election Supervisory Board in central Jakarta and other government offices, according to police spokesman Argo Yuwono.
Police have been placed on the highest security alert nationwide until May 25 and have urged people not to participate in rallies because militants linked to the Islamic State were plotting to use the gatherings to launch attacks.
Jokowi called for peace and unity, urging citizens to respect the will of the people and the democratic process. The president said he respected his opponent’s decision to challenge the verdict and pledged to “work hard to realize social justice for all Indonesians.”
“Jokowi kicks off his second term with a stronger mandate than in 2014," said Hugo Brennan, principal political analyst with Verisk Maplecroft in London. But he “will continue to face concerted opposition from a minority of the political elite and wider electorate, as demonstrated by Prabowo’s ‘people power’ campaign," Brennan said.
Jokowi has ordered infrastructure spending to be accelerated and promised to reduce poverty, keep prices low and improve tax revenue. The government has drawn up a $412 billion spending plan to expand an ambitious infrastructure drive launched by Jokowi in his first term.
The government is also expected to spend more on education and training in order to create 100 million jobs in the next five years to provide work for the growing number of millennials entering the labor market each year.
Cabinet Revamp
For Jokowi, the immediate challenge will be to revamp his cabinet as three of his ministers have been linked to separate graft cases being probed by the Corruption Eradication Commission. He’s hinted at a reshuffle as early as next month, and has vowed to pursue tougher reforms in his second and last term as president.
Speculation has swirled around the role of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in Jokowi’s second term. Since joining Jokowi cabinet in 2016, the former World Bank managing director has reined in the fiscal deficit and taken steps to boost the tax-to-gross domestic product ratio, helping secure an investment grade from all ratings companies.
Jokowi, whose re-election bid was backed by 10 political parties, may also induct Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono of the Democrat Party and Erick Thohir, who led Jokowi’s campaign team and nominees from the National Mandate Party, which supported Prabowo, the Jakarta Post reported this month.
Jokowi’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP, emerged as the largest party in the elections to the nation’s lower house of parliament by securing 19.3% votes, commission data showed. The coalition of parties supporting Jokowi was also poised to control the house with Golkar, the political party that helped keep authoritarian leader Suharto in power for more than three decades, winning 12.3% of national votes. Prabowo’s Gerindra Party secured 12.6% of the votes.
--With assistance from Tassia Sipahutar and Rieka Rahadiana.
To contact the reporters on this story: Viriya Singgih in Jakarta at vsinggih@bloomberg.net;Arys Aditya in Jakarta at aaditya5@bloomberg.net;Karlis Salna in Jakarta at ksalna@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Thomas Kutty Abraham at tabraham4@bloomberg.net, Ruth Pollard
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