Prabowo Subianto: Ex-general Marched To Indonesia Presidency

Prabowo Subianto is Indonesia's president after a convincing election win but he has also been accused of rights abuses while serving as a military chief

Jakarta, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Mar, 2024) Prabowo Subianto is Indonesia's president after a convincing election win but he has also been accused of rights abuses while serving as a military chief.

Prabowo claimed a first-round victory over two rivals last month but was officially announced as the new leader by the elections commission on Wednesday, crowning his decades-long battle to win high office in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

The defence minister won the presidency after a rebrand and rise in popularity aided by his vast wealth, nationalist verve in populist speeches and strongman credentials as chief of the influential military.

"At 18, I signed a vow, I was ready to die for the people and the nation. I have not revoked the vow. I am ready if God summons me," he told a campaign rally before the election, touting his military service.

The former general's political ambitions came to the fore in 2004 but he failed to become the presidential candidate of the Golkar party, Suharto's former political vehicle.

He ran for vice president in 2009 with ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who failed to win.

He would lose the next two presidential elections to the popular Joko Widodo, who is stepping down after reaching the constitutional two-term limit.

Prabowo has since rehabilitated his image, partly thanks to a savvy social media campaign targeting Indonesia's youth in which he is portrayed as a "cuddly grandpa".

Rising approval ratings that made him the presidential favourite were also in no small part due to cannily picking Widodo's eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate.

Analysts said Prabowo's chances were helped by Widodo's popularity and support, as well as younger Indonesians -- more than half of nearly 205 million eligible voters -- who did not come of age under Suharto.

"We will fight to bring prosperity for all people of Indonesia. We will continue what was already being built by previous presidents," Prabowo said in a final pitch to supporters at a campaign rally.

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