Both candidates in Indonesia election claim victory

Thursday, 10 July 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Both candidates claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election on Wednesday, suggesting there could be a drawn out constitutional battle to decide who will next lead the world’s third-largest democracy. Just a few hours after voting closed, Jakarta governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he had won, based on what are widely seen as quick counts of more than 90 percent of the votes. A victory for him would be seen as a triumph for a new breed of politician that has emerged in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, and increase the promise of reform in government.

But ex-general Prabowo Subianto, the rival candidate seen as a representative of the old guard that flourished under decades of autocratic rule, pointed to a quick count by other pollsters naming him the winner. He did not name the pollsters. Jokowi, on other hand, said he was the winner from tolls by six agencies, many of which are regarded as independent. The quick counts are conducted by private agencies which collate actual vote tallies as they come out of each district. The results are not official, but quick counts by three non-partisan pollsters - CSIS, Kompas and Saifulmujani - showed a Jokowi win. Their predictions were accurate in the April parliamentary election. The Election Commission will take about two weeks to officially declare the results of the presidential contest and the new president is not due to take office until Oct. 1. A senior aide to Jokowi said the party would not take any action like naming a cabinet until the official result is announced on or around July 22. “We’ve waited months. We can wait another 2 to 3 weeks for the (Election Commission’s) final verdict,” Luhut Panjaitan told Reuters. The standoff is unprecedented in Indonesia, which is holding only its third direct presidential election. In both the previous elections, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, now the outgoing president, won by a clear margin.