Following legislative elections earlier this year on April 9th, all Indonesia went to the polls on July 9th to elect its new President. A major event which took place for the seventh time since 1945.
The former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono being constitutionally barred from seeking a third mandate, two new candidates were competing: Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo.
According to the Lowy Institute (www.lowyinstitute.org), the two candidates are a study in contrasts. Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, is a middle class furniture entrepreneur who served as Mayor of the mid-sized city of Surakarta in Central Java, where he built a consensus for a series good government reforms that attracted nationwide attention. Enthusiasm for his approach in Surakarta propelled him to an upset victory in the capital Jakarta, 500km away, in an election there in 2012.
His competitor is the retired Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto who leads the Greater Indonesia Movement, or Gerindra, a well-funded party backed by his tycoon brother. Prabowo is a Suharto Era figure who has staged a remarkable political comeback after he left the army in 1998.
The Indonesian elections commission on Tuesday night officially proclaimed Joko Widodo the winner of the presidential election.
On the picture below, the poll office in Pekutatan the candidates and… the proof of the vote with the auricular finger marked with black ink!