JAKARTA, Feb 14, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo 
Subianto has a strong lead in the race for the presidency of Southeast Asia's 
biggest economy, preliminary results collated by government-approved 
pollsters showed Wednesday after polls closed.

With around 60 percent of sample votes tallied in so-called "quick counts" 
that have previously proven reliable, two independent pollsters showed 
Subianto on more than 55 percent of the vote.

Pollster Poltracking showed Subianto at 59.77 percent of the vote in the 
preliminary count and Cyrus Network-CSIS had him at 58.62 percent. 

Securing more than 50 percent of the vote would be enough to avoid a second-
round run-off against one of his two election rivals Anies Baswedan or Ganjar 
Pranowo. Official results are expected next month.

Tens of millions of people voted in the presidential poll, with Subianto the 
frontrunner for months despite concerns over his human rights record. 

The vote across 800,000 polling stations ended at 1:00 pm local time (0600 
GMT) in western Indonesia, while some in Jakarta remained open after the 
capital was inundated by thunderstorms.

The 72-year-old Subianto, accused by NGOs and former bosses of ordering the 
abduction of democracy activists at the end of dictator Suharto's rule in the 
1990s, was scheduled to address supporters at a central Jakarta arena on 
Wednesday evening.

The "quick counts" by independent pollsters have been used in previous 
elections by candidates to claim victory.