The Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU) has finished its 14 February presidential election audit and confirmed Probowo Subianto as Indonesia’s 8th President since Independence in 1945.
Probowo ran for office under the Partai Gerakan Indonesia (Gerinda) banner on a ticket with President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his Vice-Presidential candidate. In the final vote tabulation, the Prabowo-Gibran coalition secured 58.58 percent of the total votes, surpassing the minimum 50 percent to avoid a second runoff election. The KPU audit declared that the defense minister tallied the most votes in 36 of Indonesia’s 38 provinces.
Indonesia’s current Defense Minister, who teamed up with President Joko Widodo’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate, won by 58.59 percent of the vote, meaning that a runoff was unnecessary.
A failed presidential candidate in 2014 and 2019, Prabowo was discharged by the Indonesian Military in 1998 as Commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).
Prabowo married Titiek Soeharto, the second daughter of then-President Soeharto, in 1983. They divorced in 1998 and have a son, Didit Hediprasetyo, who lives in Paris and is a successful fashion designer.
The Presidency of Prabowo Subianto will be the first time Indonesia has not had a “First Lady” to address the many ceremonial duties traditionally undertaken by the wife of the Indonesian Chief Executive.
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