JOKO WIDODO WINS INDONESIA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

JKW-JK — Joko Widodo (left) and Jusuf Kalla (right) wins the 2014 election as the newest president of Indonesia

Jakarta, 24 Ramadan 1435/22 July 2014 (MINA) – Indonesian Election Commission (KPU) on Tuesday announced Joko Widodo (Jokowi) as the winner of Indonesia’s presidential election after a closely-fought race against a controversial ex-general Prabowo Subianto who has roots in the era of Suharto.

Jokowi- Jusuf Kalla (JK) got 53,15 percent (70.997.833) votes, ahead of his rival Prabowo-Hatta Rajassa who only got 46,85 percent (62.576.444) of the total 133.574.277 eligible votes. The participation rate reached 70.7 percent vote.

Jokowi brought a jargon as an honest, simple and populist figure. He claimed to have the support by Muslims as the majority of Indonesian population. Many Muslim leaders hope his leadership could represent Muslims interests as the majority population.

During his campaigns, Jokowi expressed consistently supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people and will open Indonesia consulate in Palestine.

Meanwhile, the Prabowo-Hatta withdrew from the vote-counting process. Subianto was quoted as saying in a news conference that he rejected the vote and viewed the election process as “riddled with problems” and “undemocratic.”. But the chairman of KPU Husni Kamil Manik stated the decision remains valid even it was not attended by Prabowo team.

Joko Widodo was born in Surakarta, Central Java, June 21, 1961. He was a politician and the Governor of Jakarta. He was the former Mayor of Surakarta (Solo) from 2005 to 2012 accompanied by FX Hadi Rudyatmo as deputy mayor. While serving two-year period both in Solo, Jokowi appointed by his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to enter the election of the Governor of Jakarta together with Tjahaja Basuki Purnama (Ahok), the regent of Bangka Belitung.

Jokowi studied at the Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah Mada University and graduated successfully into the furniture business. His political career by becoming the Mayor of Surakarta in 2005. His name became known after successfully changing the face of Surakarta became a city of tourism, culture, and batik.

On September 20, 2012, Jokowi won Jakarta elections in 2012 and his victory is thought to reflect popular support for a “new” and “clean” leader, although he was already more than fifty years. Jokowi launched a variety of programs such as Healthy Jakarta Card, Smart Jakarta Card, auction office, the construction of Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) and monorail, refunctioning reservoirs and rivers, as well as the provision of open green space.

Jokowi will be inaugurated as president and will start to take the reins of the nation of 250 million people in October, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono steps down after serving a maximum two years term (10 years). The exchange of power will be the country’s first between directly elected presidents, with Joko Widodo becoming the nation’s seventh president of Indonesia.

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)