Jul 23, 2014

Newly Elected President of Indonesia - A Man of All Peoples?


The General Elections Commission of Indonesia (KPU) officially announced yesterday, Tuesday 22July 2014, the new president of the country for the period of 2014-2019. Joko “Jokowi” Widodo won with 53.15 percent of the votes (70.6 million), whereas his opponent in what was Indonesia’s closest presidential election ever, Prabowo Subianto, gained 46.85 percent, or 62.3 million, votes in the 33 provinces.

 

About an hour before the official results of Indonesia's presidential race were to be released, Prabowo Subianto, a former military commander accused of several human rights violations, particularly against Indonesia’s minority components, announced he was rejecting the election process and withdrawing. In a speech aired live, Prabowo cited "massive, structural and systematic cheating during the 2014 election," and told his supporters in Jakarta that the election process overseen by the KPU had been undemocratic and against the constitution, which in turn caused the “loss of Indonesian citizens’ right of democracy.” Prabowo now has three days to contest the results in the constitutional court and he has announced his intention to use his right to do so, to reject the presidential election and declare it unconstitutional. The Prabowo team had previously called on the KPU to defer the results until 8 August and are still calling for a re-vote in some polling stations. However, on Monday 21 July 2014 the election commissioner, Arif Budiman, denied Prabowo's request to delay the release of the election results.

 

Jokowi declared victory after the preliminary results had been released earlier this month, telling his supporters: "It's not a victory for the party, not a victory for the team, but this is a victory for all Indonesian people." As a self-made businessman turned Jakarta governor,Jokowi will be the first president without a connection to the military or the country's traditional elite. His background has helped him appeal among the country's poor, and he has been depicted as “a man of the people”.Furthermore, as Jakarta governor he piloted new healthcare and education programs, which also has contributed to his popularity.

 

Ensuring a smooth transfer of power is now of utmost importance for the nation’s most divisive presidential election not to erode democratic and economic progress since dictator Suharto stepped down in 1998. However, this will not be the only challenge president Jokowi, having pledged to invest in Indonesia's economy and the fight against corruption, will be facing in the coming years. If Jokowi is truly committed to address intolerance, discrimination and violence, and to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, there must be room for inclusive dialogue and consideration of the concerns of the people of Acheh, West Papua, South Moluccas and others. The coming months and years will show whether the ‘man of the people’ will be the man of all peoples.

 

Photo @ Flickr by Scrolleditorial