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A Child of the Slum Rises as President of Indonesia - the World's 3rd Largest Democracy.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Joko Widodo, the governor of Jakarta whose common touch has made him a political phenomenon, was declared the winner of Indonesia’s presidential election on Tuesday, completing an improbable ascent from child of the slums to leader of the world’s fourth-most populous nation.
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The victory represents a striking rise for Mr. Joko, 53, who was born and raised in a riverside slum area in the city of Surakarta, also known as Solo, in Central Java Province. He grew up to be a carpenter and later a furniture exporter before entering politics in 2005. He was twice elected mayor of his hometown, then governor of Jakarta in 2012.
Mr. Joko, a thin, unassuming figure with what he has described as a typical “village face,” will be Indonesia’s seventh president and the first not to have emerged from the country’s political elite or to have been an army general.
Mr. Prabowo, 62, was a son-in-law of Suharto, the authoritarian president who was forced to resign in 1998 after 32 years in power amid pro-democracy street demonstrations. Mr. Prabowo, a successful businessman who comes from a prominent Javanese political family, has a checkered military record, including allegations of human rights abuses as a commander of Indonesia’s Special Forces and later as head of the army’s strategic reserve command. He was denied a visa to enter the United States in 2000 and is believed to be on an unofficial blacklist.
Sitting barefoot inside a small rented house in central Jakarta a few days before Tuesday’s announcement, Mr. Joko said in an interview that Indonesia’s continuing democratic transition had broken the grip of the entrenched political elite on the government. Of crucial importance to this, he said, was the introduction of direct elections from president all the way down to town mayor a decade ago, as part of a national decentralization policy that replaced Suharto’s centralized system of governance.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/world/asia/joko-widodo-populist-governor-is-named-winner-in-indonesian-election.html?_r=0
=snip=
The victory represents a striking rise for Mr. Joko, 53, who was born and raised in a riverside slum area in the city of Surakarta, also known as Solo, in Central Java Province. He grew up to be a carpenter and later a furniture exporter before entering politics in 2005. He was twice elected mayor of his hometown, then governor of Jakarta in 2012.
Mr. Joko, a thin, unassuming figure with what he has described as a typical “village face,” will be Indonesia’s seventh president and the first not to have emerged from the country’s political elite or to have been an army general.
Mr. Prabowo, 62, was a son-in-law of Suharto, the authoritarian president who was forced to resign in 1998 after 32 years in power amid pro-democracy street demonstrations. Mr. Prabowo, a successful businessman who comes from a prominent Javanese political family, has a checkered military record, including allegations of human rights abuses as a commander of Indonesia’s Special Forces and later as head of the army’s strategic reserve command. He was denied a visa to enter the United States in 2000 and is believed to be on an unofficial blacklist.
Sitting barefoot inside a small rented house in central Jakarta a few days before Tuesday’s announcement, Mr. Joko said in an interview that Indonesia’s continuing democratic transition had broken the grip of the entrenched political elite on the government. Of crucial importance to this, he said, was the introduction of direct elections from president all the way down to town mayor a decade ago, as part of a national decentralization policy that replaced Suharto’s centralized system of governance.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/world/asia/joko-widodo-populist-governor-is-named-winner-in-indonesian-election.html?_r=0
Some background articles which give more insight into how significant this election is...
Here’s Why Some Indonesians Are Spooked by This Presidential Contender
http://time.com/2836510/prabowo-subianto-human-rights-indonesia-elections/
"Do I have the guts," Prabowo asked, "am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?"
http://www.allannairn.org/2014/06/news-do-i-have-guts-prabowo-asked-am-i.html
What does Jokowi win mean for Indonesia?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28397552
7 replies
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Which seems like endorsement from the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce:
