In Indonesia Election, Ex-General Is Front-Runner After Makeover for TikTok Age
The front-runner in Indonesia’s presidential election on Wednesday has endeared himself to young voters by projecting an image of a cuddly, cat-loving grandfather figure. But Prabowo Subianto has a checkered history. He was dismissed from Indonesia’s military 25 years ago on allegations he kidnapped democracy activists.
The former special forces commander—who trained for a period at a U.S. Army post then called Fort Benning—lamented in a 2017 book that Indonesia had lost its way after the fall of the country’s dictator Suharto, who was also his former father-in-law. After two unsuccessful runs for president in the past decade, 72-year-old Subianto appears to be in a strong position to be third time lucky.
Independent opinion polls before Wednesday’s elections projected him winning around 50% of the vote, far ahead of his two competitors. If he prevails, Subianto will helm the world’s third-largest democracy, home to 280 million people. President Joko Widodo, who has served for nearly a decade, is barred from seeking a third term and will leave office in October.
His son is Subianto’s running mate. Subianto, who currently serves as Widodo’s defense minister, has vowed to finish what the president started. That includes doubling down on an economic policy that has made Indonesia the world’s dominant source of nickel for the electric-vehicle industry while touching off a coal binge.
Subianto has also endorsed Widodo’s pet project of moving Indonesia’s capital from crowded Jakarta to a remote part of the island of Borneo. “His vision is the same as my vision," said Subianto in a January speech. “Indonesia must be prosperous, our wealth should stay in our own hands." Subianto has said he plans to stick with Indonesia’s
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