Counting Begins for New Indonesian President 

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed 

Voting for a new Indonesian president and thousands of other posts in one of the world’s largest elections has closed with no major problems reported.

Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and two former provincial governors vied to succeed the still-immensely popular President Jokowi Widodo.

Official final results will come in about a month.

There were nearly 205 million eligible voters, but the turnout was not immediately known.

The presidency is being contested by Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and two former provincial governors Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.

Subianto, the front-runner based on several independent surveys, has picked Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice-presidential running mate.

Polls show the 72-year-old Subianto ahead of his two rivals, though perhaps not with the majority needed to avoid a runoff. While he is the oldest candidate, his running mate is the youngest: 36-year-old Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Subianto has vowed to continue Widodo’s economic development plan.

Baswedan, the former head of an Islamic university, served as governor of Jakarta until last year. A former Fulbright scholar, Baswedan had been education and culture minister from 2014 to 2016.

Pranowo is the governing party candidate, but does not have the support of Widodo. He was a national legislator for the governing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle for 10 years before being elected in 2013 for the first of two terms as Central Java governor.

More than 5.7 million election workers will man polling stations. Seats are up for grabs from district level to national parliamentary seats and the presidency.

Official results are not expected until March, but so-called “quick counts” are expected to give a reliable indication of the winner later Wednesday.