Indonesia president-elect faces thorny issues

Significance

It confirmed Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto as the winner of the race to succeed Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo as president. The elections for the People’s Representative Council (DPR), the main legislative chamber, went less favourably for Prabowo, with the coalition supporting him set to fall short of a majority in the legislature.

Impacts

• To calm investor anxieties, Prabowo will take conspicuous counsel from technocrats when choosing his finance minister.
• When he reshuffles his cabinet, Prabowo’s priority will shift from rewarding coalition partners to strengthening his own party’s position.
• Prabowo’s vote share in Aceh and West Sumatra, the only provinces where he was outperformed, suggests some aversion among Muslim hardliners.