Indonesia's incumbent President Joko Widodo is set to win another term in office, according to early count by private pollsters. The official results of Wednesday's presidential election will be released by the election commission only on May 22.
CNBC reported that 'quick counts' tallied by pollsters showed Jokowi has beaten his rival Prabowo Subianto. Pollsters also said Jokowi's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) will also get the most number of seats in parliament.
The Indonesian financial markets seemed to have factored in the victory of Jokowi in the elections, rising nearly 2.5 percent on Thursday. The Indonesian rupiah also rose to its strongest level against the US dollar in nearly two months.
According to the quick count by pollsters Jokowi got nearly 54 percent of the votes. The polls have marked around 44-45 percent of votes for Prabowo Subianto, the leader of the Great Indonesia Movement Party.
Though the so-called quick counts are accurate indicators of results going by the last elections, Jokowi hasn't yet claimed victory. On the other hand, Subianto, a former military general whom Jokowi had defeated narrowly in the 2014 presidential elections, has claimed internal polls have indicated he has won. Subianto, who enjoys the support of hardliner Muslim fans, said a "real count" from more than 320 polling stations showed he won 62 percent of votes. He also said statistics experts who he consulted assured him that the final tally wound not differ much from his assessment, Jakarta Post reported.
Election results are disputed in Indonesia, the world's third largest democracy. The country emerged from the dictatorship of Suharto only in 1998. Prabowo Subianto, who has vast following in the conservative belts, is known to have ties to the former dictatorship.
With Subianto rejecting outright unofficial vote count, Indonesian authorities have issued a warning against mass protests. "I urge everyone against mass demonstrations, whether it's to celebrate or to express dissatisfaction," National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said.
"If there are any illegal or unconstitutional actions that threaten public stability and security, (authorities) will take firm action," he added.
Subianto has warned that he would launch a legal challenge against the results if he was declared the loser. He had fought a legal battle the last time as well but lost out. He also warned on Wednesday that he would he would launch street protests if the legal challenge didn't succeed.
