Prabowo's coalition dominates Indonesian regional vote outside Jakarta

By Ananda Teresia

Candidates backed by new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto look set to triumph in key regional elections, apart from in the capital Jakarta, facilitating the implementation of his agenda and reinforcing his domination of national politics.

More than 200 million Indonesians voted on Wednesday for leaders in 37 provinces, 93 cities, and 415 districts. While the official results will be announced between Nov. 30 and Dec. 15, independent pollsters have released their election counts.

Candidates backed by Prabowo's broad coalition, some of whom were also endorsed by former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, won most key provinces, including Central Java, West Java and East Java, according to initial results from the pollsters.

Widodo's son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, who was also backed by Prabowo's big coalition, won in North Sumatra province, a key province on the island of Sumatra.

"This is a triumph for Prabowo and also Jokowi, but with Jakarta, it's a failure," Yanuar Nugroho, visiting senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told Reuters.

"The executors of all Prabowo's programmes are these regional leaders," he said.

Central Java, West Java, and East Java are seen as pivotal because they are the most populous provinces, while Jakarta has national significance as the capital and, as seen with Widodo, can be a stepping stone to run for the presidency.

"The victory is important so that Prabowo's programmes could be well implemented and integrated," Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a senior official at Prabowo's Gerindra party, told Reuters.

In Jakarta, the candidates for governor and deputy governor backed by the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) had between 49.49% to 51.1% of votes, pollsters said, ahead of the ticket backed by a coalition of 13 government-aligned parties and an independent pairing.

Candidates must secure an outright majority to win in Jakarta, or there has to be a second round of voting.

SMOOTHING PRABOWO'S PATH

Election analyst Titi Anggraini said the overall results would smooth the way for Prabowo to implement his own election pledges and give him room to start building a platform to run for re-election in 2029.

Yanuar also said the results will make it easier for Prabowo to implement his policies such as free meals for school children and others, poverty eradication and food self-sufficiency.

Prabowo was sworn in as president last month, after a landslide election victory earlier this year. He has secured support from seven out of eight parties in the national parliament.

Voting in the regional elections was disrupted in some areas of the islands of Papua and Sumatra, officials said.

Dozens of supporters of two candidates competing in Puncak Jaya, Central Papua province, clashed on Wednesday, injuring at least 94 people and damaging 40 houses.

Supporters from both sides had used bows and arrows and had torched houses, a spokesperson of the Papua police, Benny Ady Prabowo, said in a statement. But the situation appeared to have calmed by Thursday.

Flash floods delayed voting in some areas of Medan, capital of North Sumatra, officials said.