Who are the candidates for the presidency of Indonesia?

Prabowo, Defense Minister and retired general, is the favourite. His deputy is Gibran, son of his historic rival and outgoing President Joko Widodo

By Tommaso Magrini

Here we are. A few days and presidential elections will be held in Indonesia. On February 14, one of the world's largest democracies goes to the polls to choose its next leader. According to the election commission, around 205 million of Indonesia's more than 270 million people have the right to vote, and around a third of these are under 30. The presidential poll will be held on the same day as the national parliamentary elections, and voters will also choose executive and legislative representatives at all administrative levels across Indonesia.

The favorite appears Prabowo Subianto. Suharto's son-in-law and former head of the special forces, the retired general has in the past been accused of being among those responsible for the repression of student protests, the disappearances and extrajudicial killings of opponents, and human rights violations against Papua's minorities and East Timor. After his dismissal from the army and a few years of self-exile in Jordan following an attempted coup, Prabowo is now convinced that in the elections on 14 February he will be able to become president of the largest economy in South-East Asia. In the last ten years, Prabowo had twice attempted to run for the presidential palace in Jakarta, but was defeated by the reformer Joko Widodo.

This time Prabowo really believes it, after joining the government in 2019 as Defense Minister. According to President Widodo, Prabowo was chosen as Defense Minister because "he has vast experience in that field". As Francesco Radicioni, Radio Radicale correspondent from Bangkok, explains, "the macho law-and-order military pose has been archived, now Prabowo shares with his millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok posts with relaxed and captivating tones that have earned him an avalanche of likes and enthusiastic comments: the most used word online is «gemoy», an expression that sounds like «adorable»” . 

The real twist, however, came when Prabowo announced that his vice-presidential candidate would be Gibran Rakabuming Raka: born in 1987, young mayor of a small town on the island of Java, but above all son of the same President Widodo. A truly surprising move, given that in Indonesia the law sets the minimum age to run for vice-presidency at 40. However, on the eve of the presentation of the candidates, the Constitutional Court decided that that limit should not be applied to those who have already won a local election. 

And the challengers? Ganjar Pranowo is the candidate of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party. His long career in public service, most recently as governor of Central Java, has earned him a following outside the capital Jakarta. In opinion polls he is second in the rankings behind Prabowo. And then there is the independent candidacy of Anies Baswedan, already at the helm of the capital's government and for a few months also minister in Jokowi's administration, before moving to the opposition. 

Even if Prabowo is considered the favorite today, analysts question whether the ex-general will really be able to win over the voters who over the last ten years have wanted to reward Widodo's liberal and reformist agenda. If no one manages to obtain an absolute majority of votes on Wednesday 14 February, Indonesia will return to the polls in June for a run-off. In August, however, the capital will move from Jakarta to Nusantara, in Borneo: the last legacy of Widodo, who however hopes to see his political dynasty continue with his son as vice president.