Massive rally in Indonesia ahead of crucial presidential election

Indonesia's presidential election is the world's largest single-day election. Candidates made their final campaigning on February 10 before entering a "cooling off" period ahead of the February 14 election, according to Reuters.

Mr. Prabowo Subianto at a rally in Jakarta on February 10.

Voters will choose who will lead the country of 270 million people for the next five years, succeeding outgoing President Joko Widodo, who cannot run again because of term limits. The three presidential candidates include popular former governors Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan, and former special forces chief Prabowo Subianto.

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is on track to win more than 50% of the vote in the presidential election, a result that would help him win in a single round, according to a survey released on February 10.

The stadium was packed with supporters of Mr Prabowo, who is running against President Joko Widodo's son.

Specifically, according to a survey conducted by Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) from January 29 to February 5 on 1,220 people, Mr. Prabowo is expected to win 51.9% of the votes, Reuters reported, citing the results. He is followed by former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan with 23.3% support and 20.3% for Mr. Ganjar Pranowo, former head of Central Java province, while 4.4% of respondents are undecided.

On February 9, pollster Indikator Politik also predicted that Mr. Prabowo would surpass the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round in June between the candidates with the highest number of votes.

Mr. Ganjar Pranowo at a rally in Solo city

LSI CEO Djayadi Hanan said the poll has a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 2.9%. That suggests there is still a chance the vote will go to a second round and the results will be too close to predict who will come in second.

Mr Hanan said Mr Prabowo's approval ratings had soared since he picked President Joko Widodo's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate in October 2023, signaling to voters that the outgoing popular leader would back Mr Prabowo.

Mr Widodo has denied tacitly supporting Mr Prabowo and said he would not campaign for any candidate.

Mr. Anies Baswedan at a rally in Jakarta on February 10.

Baswedan supporters fill stadium in Jakarta

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of the candidates attended rallies in the capital Jakarta and the city of Solo in Central Java province on February 10. In Jakarta, waves of people wearing green gathered at the city's main sports complex to show their support for Mr. Prabowo.

Supporters of Mr Anies filled the 82,000-seat stadium in the capital for prayers, some arriving and staying overnight to secure a spot to see the former Jakarta governor.

Meanwhile, Mr Ganjar held a rally in the city of Solo with thousands of supporters despite the rain. The former Central Java governor urged people to vote for him to demonstrate “true resistance” to the use of state assets in the election process, without mentioning any specific opponents.

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