Indonesian elections: Both candidates claim victory.

According to Xinhua, both Indonesian presidential candidates, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo and former Commander-in-Chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces Prabowo Subianto, declared victory in the elections held on the same day on July 9.

Both Widono and Subianto urged their supporters and volunteers to monitor the transfer of ballots from polling stations to the General Election Commission (KPU) until the KPU announces the official results on July 22nd. Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party called on supporters of both candidates to exercise restraint and avoid tension while awaiting the official announcement of the election results.

Two Indonesian presidential candidates. (Source: Getty)

Previously, Indonesian media had also published results from various polling agencies, but these results were inconsistent.

According to polls conducted by agencies supporting Subianto, the former commander of the Indonesian armed forces won 52% of the vote compared to 49% for Jakarta Governor Widodo. Conversely, polls supporting Joko Widodo showed him winning 52% of the vote.

Mr. Subianto is the candidate representing a seven-party coalition chaired by the Great Indonesia Movement Party. This coalition holds 56.19%, or 353, of the 560 seats in Parliament in the recent legislative elections on April 7th. Meanwhile, candidate Widodo represents a five-party coalition led by the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party of former President Soekarnoputri Megawati. This coalition holds the remaining seats in Parliament.

According to VNA