Nearly 205 million Indonesians are voting today to elect the country’s next president, with current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, a military man with a highly controversial past, seen as the favorite to succeed Joko Widodo after a decade in power.

Although he has been accused of gross human rights abuses during the Suharto dictatorship in the 1990s, the 72-year-old army general is not ruled out to win the presidential election from today’s first round.

With almost 52% of voting intentions, according to the latest polls, he is far ahead of Anies Baswedan, the former governor of Jakarta, and Ganjar Pranowo, the former governor of Central Java. The last two are expected to fight hard for second place.

If none of the three candidates secures a majority today, a second round will be held in June.

“We will fight to bring prosperity to all Indonesians,” Prabowo Subianto promised on Saturday at his last election rally. “We will continue what previous presidents have already built,” he added.

The more than 800,000 polling stations opened at 07:00 and will close at 13:00 (local time; 02:00 to 08:00 Greek time) in the vast archipelago, which stretches 5,000 kilometers, has three time zones and a total of 274 million residents.

In addition to their president, Indonesians are also called to elect today the 580 members of parliament, prefectural and local elected officials. This is one of the largest and most complex polls in a few hours worldwide.

Anies Basuedan assured the Metro TV network today that he “feels the spirit of change”.

However, voting faces problems. In Jakarta, a metropolis of 30 million people, a river overflowed hours before the polls opened, flooding some areas.

The process began in the province of Papua, the easternmost of the 17,000-island archipelago—in which separatist rebels still operate today—reporters found on the ground.

Running for a third term, Mr Prabowo uses nationalist and populist rhetoric, pledging to continue the policies of the outgoing head of state, who is informally known by the nickname Jokowi. The president, say his opponents, is suspected of using state funds to influence the elections, to favor his minister.

During his time as head of special forces, Mr Prabowo was accused by NGOs of ordering the kidnappings and violent “disappearances” of pro-democracy activists in the 1990s as the Suharto regime was on its deathbed. The general e.a. rejects these accusations. He was never prosecuted.

Because of the charges against him, the retired senior officer faced international sanctions: he was denied the right to obtain a passport visa to visit the US or Australia.

However, thanks to his wide and careful presence on social networking sites, he has changed his image and attracts especially young people, who often ignore the accusations against him and believe his commitment to continue the policies of the very popular Jokowi.

After ten years in power, the head of state will hand over to his successor a country recording rapid economic growth (5.05% in 2023, although slightly reduced from 5.3% in 2022).

Although part of the population is clearly attracted to his nationalist rhetoric, the possibility of him taking the presidency raises concerns about the possible weakening of democratic achievements.

Former Education Minister Anies Basuedan, for his part, presents himself as a fighter for democracy. The third candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, once a favorite, is currently far behind, but analysts point out that he cannot be ruled out as a regulator of the political balance.

Candidate vice-president of general e.a. is Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, the eldest son of the outgoing president. Many see in this element the intention of the current president to leave behind a family political dynasty.

The exit polls will give a relatively reliable idea of ​​the outcome in the evening. The official results are not expected to be announced until the end of March.