190 Million Indonesians Vote in Elections
On 17 April Indonesia underwent a uniquely complex democratic process, when around 190
million citizens cast their votes in national elections at both presidential and legislative
levels of government.
The presidential election was a repeat of the 2014 race for the presidency. The incumbent,
Joko Widodo (known as Jokowi), was standing against a former army general Prabowo
Subianto. Each was supported by a coalition of political parties represented in the national
parliament. Jokowi’s support came from both nationalist and moderate Muslim parties, the
largest party being the multi-religious Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) which
is led by Indonesia’s first female President Megawati Sukarnoputeri, who held office from
2001-2004.
Prabowo , as the former general is commonly known, was supported in his bid for the
presidency by a coalition of activist Islamic parties, as well as more notorious community
groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front. During the six-month campaign period which
included five televised debates between the candidates, Prabowo emphasised Islamic
themes, painting Jokowi as weak on Islamic issues. To counter this, Jokowi chose a senior
Muslim cleric, Ma'ruf Amin, as his vice-presidential running mate.
The elections also required Indonesia’s masses to cast their votes for candidates standing
for the 575 seats of the national People’s Representative Council as well as for provincial
and local councils. In all, some 240,000 candidates competed for these multiple levels of
government, posing a massive challenge for election planners both in terms of logistics and
in ensuring free and fair processes.
Official results for the presidential election will be released on May 22, and results for the
various legislatures will not appear until mid-September. The Indonesian electoral
commission, however, authorised several dozen agencies to monitor exit polls and release
quick count provisional results.
Most of these agencies have called the presidential election for the incumbent, Jokowi, by
55 to 45 percentage points. He has issued subtle claims of electoral success, while Prabowo
has issued three counter claims of victory, accusing the agencies of lying, and claiming
massive electoral fraud. Prabowo and his supporters held mass prayers in Jakarta, and
several Islamist activist groups have moved to apply “people power” pressure before the
official declaration of the election result. This probably represents Prabowo’s last tilt at the
presidency, given his age of 67.
Unofficial quick count results for the legislative elections suggest that Megawati’s PDI-P
party will retain its place as the largest party in Parliament, with Islamic activist parties not
making significant headway. There are signs of further polarisation of the population
between the conservative Muslim regions of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and West Java
on one hand, and Central/East Java and the religious minority regions of the eastern Islands
on the other.
The 24 million Christians in Indonesia, representing some 10% of the population, seem to
have supported Jokowi en masse: heavily Christian regions such as East Nusa Tenggara,
North Maluku, and Papua and West Papua have voted for him by as much as 86% in some
areas.
This article first appeared in The Church Times (UK) on 26 April 2019.
million citizens cast their votes in national elections at both presidential and legislative
levels of government.
The presidential election was a repeat of the 2014 race for the presidency. The incumbent,
Joko Widodo (known as Jokowi), was standing against a former army general Prabowo
Subianto. Each was supported by a coalition of political parties represented in the national
parliament. Jokowi’s support came from both nationalist and moderate Muslim parties, the
largest party being the multi-religious Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) which
is led by Indonesia’s first female President Megawati Sukarnoputeri, who held office from
2001-2004.
Prabowo , as the former general is commonly known, was supported in his bid for the
presidency by a coalition of activist Islamic parties, as well as more notorious community
groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front. During the six-month campaign period which
included five televised debates between the candidates, Prabowo emphasised Islamic
themes, painting Jokowi as weak on Islamic issues. To counter this, Jokowi chose a senior
Muslim cleric, Ma'ruf Amin, as his vice-presidential running mate.
The elections also required Indonesia’s masses to cast their votes for candidates standing
for the 575 seats of the national People’s Representative Council as well as for provincial
and local councils. In all, some 240,000 candidates competed for these multiple levels of
government, posing a massive challenge for election planners both in terms of logistics and
in ensuring free and fair processes.
Official results for the presidential election will be released on May 22, and results for the
various legislatures will not appear until mid-September. The Indonesian electoral
commission, however, authorised several dozen agencies to monitor exit polls and release
quick count provisional results.
Most of these agencies have called the presidential election for the incumbent, Jokowi, by
55 to 45 percentage points. He has issued subtle claims of electoral success, while Prabowo
has issued three counter claims of victory, accusing the agencies of lying, and claiming
massive electoral fraud. Prabowo and his supporters held mass prayers in Jakarta, and
several Islamist activist groups have moved to apply “people power” pressure before the
official declaration of the election result. This probably represents Prabowo’s last tilt at the
presidency, given his age of 67.
Unofficial quick count results for the legislative elections suggest that Megawati’s PDI-P
party will retain its place as the largest party in Parliament, with Islamic activist parties not
making significant headway. There are signs of further polarisation of the population
between the conservative Muslim regions of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and West Java
on one hand, and Central/East Java and the religious minority regions of the eastern Islands
on the other.
The 24 million Christians in Indonesia, representing some 10% of the population, seem to
have supported Jokowi en masse: heavily Christian regions such as East Nusa Tenggara,
North Maluku, and Papua and West Papua have voted for him by as much as 86% in some
areas.
This article first appeared in The Church Times (UK) on 26 April 2019.