UPDATED: Indonesia's Widodo set for 2nd term as president
Vote counts from five independent survey groups showed Widodo with a clear lead over Subianto, a general during the era of the Suharto military dictatorship who warned Indonesia would fall apart without his strongman leadership.
Addressing jubilant supporters a few hours after polls closed, Widodo said he was aware of his lead and called for the nation to reunite after the divisions of the campaign. His campaign team has alleged massive voter list irregularities, but analysts say the claims are absurd and designed to undermine the election.
Widodo tried to neutralize the not-a-real-Muslim whispers with the selection of Ma'ruf Amin, the leading Islamic cleric in Indonesia, as his running mate, though he risked alienating progressive and moderate supporters. "For me, this country is better to be managed by a man with a clean track record rather than a dirty one in the past," he said.
A strident nationalist, Subianto ran a fear-based campaign, highlighting what he sees as Indonesia's weakness and the risk of exploitation by foreign powers or disintegration.
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