Made Anthony Iswara and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Presidential contender Prabowo Subianto claimed victory over the 2019 presidential election on Wednesday afternoon, hours before quick-count surveys officially ended, in a repeat of a similar declaration he made in the 2014 presidential race – which he lost.

The former Army general claimed a "real count" from more than 320 polling stations had placed him in the lead with 62 percent of votes.

He added that he had consulted statistics experts who said the figure would "not differ much" from the final count.

"We will avoid taking any unconstitutional actions because we have already won," Prabowo told the media at his residence in South Jakarta.

"I am and will always be the president of the Indonesian people [...] For those who have supported [Jokowi], I will also embrace you all."

Most pollsters currently have incumbent Joko "Jokowi" Widodo leading the presidential race with about 54 percent of the vote and Prabowo at 45 percent.

Prabowo previously rejected early results showing Jokowi ahead of him, claiming that the surveys were "partisan".

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/04/17/we-have-already-won-prabowo-claims.html