• Wion
  • /World
  • /Prabowo Subianto elected as new president of Indonesia

Prabowo Subianto elected as new president of Indonesia

Prabowo Subianto elected as new president of Indonesia

Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto

Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto has been elected as president of the world's third-biggest democracy, the elections commission said Wednesday, decisively beating two rivals who have vowed to file a legal complaint about the vote.

Defence Minister Prabowo and his vice-presidential running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka received more than 96 million votes, commission chairman Hasyim Asy'ari said, roughly 58.6 percent of the total count and enough to secure a first-round majority.

Anies Baswedan secured nearly 41 million votes, or 24.9 per cent of the total count, while Ganjar Pranowo received 27 million votes, more than 16 per cent.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Also Read |Global struggle against electronic waste, UN report

Prabowo and Gibran -- the eldest son of outgoing leader Joko Widodo -- already declared victory last month after unofficial counts showed them winning a majority.

Prabowo, 72, was widely predicted to win the presidency on his third attempt. He will take over the presidency in October after a transition period.

Also Read |Trump says would consider removal of ‘nasty’ Australian ambassador to US, Kevin Rudd

His popularity soared because of what experts said was his nationalist verve in populist speeches, strongman credentials as defence minister and backing from Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi.

WATCH |UK: Jeremy Hunt hints at deadline for polls

His rivals Anies and Ganjar have vowed to submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court about irregularities and allegations of fraud during the election.

But Prabowo's legal team is confident the result will not be successfully challenged because of his majority and wide margin of victory, local media reported Tuesday.