A strongman apparatchik accused of multiple human rights abuses. A violent nationalist. A pious defender of Muslims. A loyal acolyte of a popular president with few achievements of his own.
Prabowo Subianto has been called all of these over the years he has sought power in Indonesia. Now he is projected to be the country’s next president. Unofficial tallies from Wednesday’s election show him winning a decisive victory, with nearly 60 percent of the vote.
During the campaign, Mr. Prabowo repeatedly promised that he would continue on the path and policies charted by Joko Widodo, the popular departing president. That would mean doling out billions of dollars on welfare programs like school lunches, health care and housing. Mr. Joko, who had beaten Mr. Probowo in previous elections and is scheduled to step down in October, seemed to offer support to his former rival as well, through his 36-year-old son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who will be Mr. Prabowo’s vice president.
But it remains unclear what kind of leader Mr. Prabowo, 72, will be. In the past he has questioned the need for democracy, and he is known for his volatile temper and erratic behavior. During this campaign, he insisted that he was committed to democracy.
“With Prabowo, we don’t trust him, so he will be given much less room to maneuver” by the public, said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, who was a senior adviser to the Indonesian vice president in the 2000s. “He will probably be eager to show his democratic credentials.”
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