Indonesian presidential polls: Probowo declares himself victorious

Jakarta: Following an unofficial count of votes, Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto declared his victory in the presidential polls in the country on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.

The Defence Minister, also a former special forces commander, Prabowo, gathered around 58 per cent of the votes based on a "quick count" of voting stations across the country. His rivals, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, gathered only 25 per cent and 17 per cent of votes, respectively.

Official vote counting will take place only in mid-March.

The election commission counted 57.7 per cent of votes for Probowo in a preliminary count, which was very slow. Only 6 per cent of ballots were recorded at that stage.

So far, neither Anies nor Ganjar has accepted the result, and they have urged the people to wait for official results. When Anies reacted that people's decision must be respected, Ganjar alleged of a "structural, systematic and massive fraud", though he brought no evidence to support his allegations. Ganjar's team said that they are probing reports of electoral violations.

Following his victory declaration, Probowo addressed people in Jakarta saying that he is grateful for the quick results. He said that they should not be arrogant, proud or euphoric but humble. The victory must be for all Indonesian people.

As per rules in Indonesia, a candidate must need more than 50 per cent of votes cast and a minimum of 20 per cent of the ballot in half of the nation's provinces to win in a single round. If no candidate wins a majority, another contest will be done between the two top finishers, which will be held in June.