Prabowo Subianto elected the new President of Indonesia
Election
4 min read
According to the Indonesian General Election Commission, Prabowo Subianto won the presidential election on 14 February 2024. The result was declared on 20 March 2024 by the Election Commission. Prabowo Subianto finally won the election after unsuccessfully contesting the president/vice-president election three times.
According to the Election Commission, the current Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and his vice-presidential candidate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, won 59 per cent of the votes.
Gibran Rakabuming Raka is the son of the incumbent Indonesian president, Joko Widodo.
The other two Presidential candidates, Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, secured nearly 41 million votes, or 25 per cent of the total count, while former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo received more than 16 per cent or 27 million votes.
However, the losing candidates, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, said they plan to challenge the official results at the country’s highest court.
Prabowo Subianto will succeed outgoing President Joko Widodo in October 2024 after a transition period.
Controversial Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto
Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto is a former special forces commander who has been accused of human rights violations in the former Indonesian province of East Timor. Now known as Timor-Leste,
East Timor gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after a long armed struggle against Indonesian rule.
Constitutional system in Indonesia
- Indonesia has a Presidential system of government. The constitution vests most of the executive power in the President, who is assisted by a vice president and a cabinet. The President appoints the members of the cabinet.
- Until 2002, the president and the vice president were elected by the Indonesian parliament, which was called the People’s Consultative Assembly.
- A new law was passed in 2002 that provided the president and vice president would be elected directly by the people.
- The term of the president and vice president is five years. A person can be president of Indonesia for two terms only.
Republic of Indonesia
Indonesia, earlier called the Dutch East Indies, is located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia.
It is an archipelago that lies in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans.
It is the world's most populous Muslim country and the fourth-largest country after India, China, and the United States of America.
Capital: Jakarta
Currency: Rupiah
President : Joko Widodo
