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Setback for favourite in Indonesia poll

By Graham Cooke - posted Monday, 28 April 2014


Golkar, which once dominated Indonesian politics under the autocratic President Suharto, won about 15 per cent of the vote and Bakrie will have to work hard to raise his profile among Indonesians who don't know him, and to dispel his negative image among many of those who do.

Prabowo is perhaps the most controversial candidate. Related through marriage to President Suharto, he was a senior commander in the armed forces at the time Suharto's dictatorial regime was toppling. It is alleged that troops under his command kidnapped and tortured democracy activists. He eventually lost out in a power struggle with another prominent general, Wiranto and was forced out of the military.

Since then he has followed a successful career as a businessman in industries that include pulp and paper, oil, natural gas and fisheries.

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Gerindra, formed for the sole purpose of supporting Prabowo who resigned from Golkar in 2008, did well to pick up an estimated 12 per cent of the vote.

The Democrat Party of current president Yudhoyono slumped from 21 per cent at the last legislative election in 2009 to less than 10 per cent this time. It has no real chance of gaining enough support to field a candidate of its own, but could play a key role in supporting one of the big three.

With so much uncertainty, there is a slight possibility that a fourth candidate will emerge should the country's Islamic parties unite behind one contender.

This is certainly the wish of the Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Din Syamsuddin, arguably the most influential Muslim leader in the country. He says he has received floods of calls from Muslims asking the Islamic parties to enter the fray especially as they did better than expected in the parliamentary contest.

However, the likelihood of the parties settling their many differences to agree on a single candidate is considered unlikely.

The result of the election will be watched with interest by the Australian government which has seen relations with its close neighbour flounder over Canberra's policy of towing refugee boats back into Indonesian waters.

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The feeling in Jakarta is that it is Australia that must work to improve relations, but with Indonesia now firmly in election mode, any initiatives will have to wait until Canberra knows who it will be dealing with over the next five years.

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About the Author

Graham Cooke has been a journalist for more than four decades, having lived in England, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, for a lengthy period covering the diplomatic round for The Canberra Times.


He has travelled to and reported on events in more than 20 countries, including an extended stay in the Middle East. Based in Canberra, where he obtains casual employment as a speech writer in the Australian Public Service, he continues to find occasional assignments overseas, supporting the coverage of international news organisations.

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