The Indonesian Minister of Defense is running for the Presidency again taking advantage of his success in the polls

Aug. 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Indonesian Defense Minister, Prabowo Subianto, has announced that he will stand for the presidency of the country for the third time in a candidacy that right now is the favorite to win according to popularity polls that point to the minister as a strong man in the country and mainstay of Islamism.

Prabowo, head of Indonesia’s third-largest party, Gerindra, announced his candidacy on Friday, more than 18 months before the election, to feed off the support his presence in President Joko Widodo’s government brings.

The country’s leader, popularly known as Jokowi, who has beaten Prabowo in the last two electoral contests, cannot run again due to the two-term limit.

“I accept your call to be a candidate for the 2024 presidential election,” said Prabowo, who is among the top three candidates in various opinion polls.

According to a poll published in June by the leading newspaper Kompas, Prabowo leads with 25.3%. Ganjar Pranowo, the current Governor of Central Java, is close behind with 22%, while the current Governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, is in third place with 12.6%.

Prabowo, who was once married to a daughter of former dictator Suharto, has consistently positioned himself as a strongman who can make Southeast Asia’s largest economy a major power to be reckoned with.

However, his fight to defeat Jokowi in the last presidential race was marred by identity politics. Shortly after the close 2019 presidential race, in which Jokowi won 55.5% of the vote, the Indonesian Constitutional Court dismissed Prabowo’s systemic electoral fraud charges.

Prabowo’s candidacy is likely to draw strong support from hardline Islamic groups and parties in some of the more conservative regions, including West Java, West Sumatra and Aceh. These regions supported their votes in the last electoral contest.