The Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was declared today the winner of the presidential elections held in the country on February 14, from the first round.

The retired general, 72, who had been leading the polls for months, won the election with 58.6 percent, the electoral commission announced. The two other candidates, former governors of Jakarta and Central Java, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranovo received 24.9% and 16% respectively. Both had previously announced they would appeal to the Constitutional Court, and Bashvedan said today, after the official results were announced, that “the situation is not normal”.

The participation rate in the elections reached 80%, which was slightly lower than the 2019 presidential election, when it reached 82%. In total 164 million Indonesians voted, out of the 204 million who were registered in the electoral rolls. The defense minister received 96 million votes and Bhaswedan 42 million.

Prabowo Subianto, the businessman with a controversial military past, will succeed Joko Widodo in October as president of Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Its vice president will be Gibran Rakabuming Raqqason of the outgoing president.

On the evening of February 14 Prabowo Subianto, who had twice failed to be elected president, in 2015 and 2019, declared that he had won the election and that this was a “victory for all Indonesians”.

The two other candidates have three days to appeal to the Constitutional Court and challenge the result. His staff Ganjar Pranovo he recently spoke of “systematic and massive” fraud in the elections, without, however, presenting any evidence.

During his time as head of special forces, Mr Prabowo has been accused by NGOs of ordering kidnappings and violent “disappearances” of pro-democracy activists in the 1990s as the Suharto regime came to an end. The general rejects these accusations. He was never prosecuted.

Because of the charges against him, Prabovo was not allowed to obtain a passport visa to visit the USA or Australia.

However, thanks to his wide and very 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 politics of his popular predecessor.

The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken he was quick to congratulate him on his victory, stating that Washington “looks forward to working closely” with him. Before the official results were even announced, many foreign leaders started sending congratulations, including the president of France and the prime ministers of Britain, the Netherlands, Malaysia and Australia.