Indonesia's defense minister, Prabowo Subianto, looks set to become the country's next president.
The size and scale of this week’s election — more than 200 million voters cast ballots for more than 20,000 positions — means that finalizing the count will take weeks. Exit polls, which have historically been accurate, indicate that Prabowo won the first round decisively, eliminating the need for a runoff.
His victory signals more continuity than change in Indonesia’s policy and governance. Prabowo is, however, likely to be more engaged in foreign policy, mostly because outgoing President Joko Widodo has been largely uninterested in this field. Still, no significant shifts should be expected. Prabowo will continue Indonesia’s longstanding neutrality and will avoid taking sides in the expanding geopolitical contest between China and the West. He is likely to do more to protect Indonesia’s territory, however, which could result in more friction with Beijing.
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