#jonathan thatcher

By Jonathan Thatcher and Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - When Indonesian furniture business owner Joko "Jokowi" Widodo turned to a career in politics nine years ago, he was a complete novice. He is set to become Indonesia's first leader not to have emerged from the political or military elite. The Elections Commission on Tuesday announced that Jokowi had beaten his rival, ex-general Prabowo Subianto, in the July 9 race by six percentage points - the country's closest presidential election ever. It is Jokowi's meteoric rise through the ranks of local government, his refusal to be intimidated by entrenched interests and in particular his famous impromptu visits around Jakarta that have endeared him to a broad swathe of Indonesians, in particular the poor and minority groups. Source: Reuters

By Jonathan Thatcher and Dennys Kapa JAKARTA (Reuters) - The likely loser in Indonesia's presidential race made a last-gasp attempt to delay the announcement of the official election results on Tuesday, expected to declare Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the nation's next leader. Most private tallies show Jokowi beat former special forces chief Prabowo Subianto by about five percentage points. He is expected to challenge the vote in the Constitutional Court, though experts say such an appeal is unlikely to succeed. Both sides have claimed victory in the closest presidential election ever in the nation with the world's biggest Muslim community. Source: Reuters