Indonesia has voted – ex-general is clear favorite for president After shots fired at megachurch in Texas – gunman dead

The enormous island kingdom of Indonesia has elected a new president. Most of the 820,000 polling stations closed as planned after 6pm on Wednesday at 1pm local time (7am CET in Jakarta). In the world’s fourth most populous country, some 205 million people were called upon to elect a new head of state and government and a new parliament. More than a third of eligible voters were under 30 years old.

Preliminary results are expected by tonight local time. The official results will not be announced until the end of March. With 274 million inhabitants, the G20 country is the third largest democracy and the largest Muslim country in the world.

Former general Prabowo Subianto is considered the overwhelming favorite to succeed popular President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi. Although accused of human rights abuses during Suharto’s dictatorship in the 1980s and 1990s, the incumbent defense minister is extremely popular, especially among young voters. According to surveys, thanks to a clever social media campaign, the 72-year-old could get more than 50 percent of the vote – and therefore would not even have to participate in a run-off election against either of his two competitors in June.

Central Java province governor Ganjar Pranowo (55) and former Jakarta governor and ex-Minister of Education Anies Baswedan (54) took action against Prabowo. On the holiday island of Bali, lines formed in front of polling stations in the morning, many of them dressed in traditional clothing. The influx was also large in the capital Jakarta on Java, after heavy rain initially flooded several parts of the city. “But that doesn’t seem to stop people,” reports Denis Suarsana, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Jakarta office. When asked, most voters say that only Prabowo has the necessary experience to continue the economic triumph of the Jokowi era. Observers see his nomination of the incumbent president’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as vice president as a stroke of genius.

However, a documentary by a leading investigative journalist has been causing a stir for days and went viral online this weekend. In ‘Dirty Vote’, Jokowi is accused of using state resources to rig the election in favor of Prabowo and his son. The video was viewed millions of times. Political observers still don’t expect the video to change much in the outcome of the election.

Thanks to vast nickel ore deposits, the archipelago is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. According to predictions, Indonesia will rise to the top 5 in the world by 2045, overtaking Germany. (yam/sda/dpa)