Prabowo Subianto seems to have cleared the final obstacle to becoming Indonesia’s next president.
Following the country’s presidential election in February — in which Prabowo secured 58.6 per cent of the votes — the two losing candidates alleged that Prabowo was complicit in large-scale voter fraud and that Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, put his finger on the scale in favour of Prabowo’s campaign. (Widodo’s son was Prabowo’s running mate and is now vice-president-elect.)
Indonesia’s Constitutional Court rejected these charges. The court’s decision is final, and Prabowo is now set to succeed Widodo in October. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not publicly acknowledged Prabowo’s election win, while U.S. President Joe Biden called Prabowo in March.
Modi seeks rare third term
India’s most important election in decades began last Friday, with tens of millions of voters casting their ballots in the first phase of a marathon six-week general election.
Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada’s Vice-President, Research & Strategy, told Asia Watch that while it’s widely expected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will secure a rare third consecutive term, she’ll be watching for “the strength of his mandate and whether his party is able to increase its seat count and broaden its support base beyond traditional strongholds.”
Modi played to some in that ‘base’ at a Sunday campaign rally, telling a crowd that if the Congress Party — his main opposition — won, India’s wealth would be funnelled to “infiltrators” and “those who have more children,” apparently referencing the country’s Muslim community, which numbers 190 million.
Modi was criticized for the “incendiary” remarks and the Congress Party accused him of hate speech.
