Prabowo cements grip in regional polls but Jakarta loss poses challenge

Poor performance of candidate supported by Indonesian leader exposes divisions

- Hariz Baharudin

JAKARTA - Results from quick counts for the 2024 regional elections in Indonesia have predicted a strong showing for President Prabowo Subianto's coalition, signaling a consolidation of his political power, with official counting still under way.

But analysts caution that despite the success, Mr Prabowo's leadership is not without challenges, particularly in Jakarta where the poor performance of the candidate he backed has exposed lingering divisions.

More than 200 million Indonesians voted on Nov 27 for leaders in 37 provinces, 93 cities and 415 districts in the Pilkada, a short term in Indonesian for district head election.

This follows the presidential and legislative polls on Feb 14 called Pemilu - the general election.

Official results will be announced only between Nov 30 and Dec 15. The quick counts are tallies from independent pollsters and a reliable gauge of the actual results.

In this case, they are showing victories for candidates backed by the big-tent coalition of Mr Prabowo called the Advanced Indonesia Coalition (KIM Plus).