Legislative election results . . . sort of

The Wall Street Journal’s election blog gives a helpful real-time account of the election and its immediate aftermath, in which the counting and recounting will continue for quite a while, it’s believed.

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2014/04/09/as-it-happens-indonesias-legislative-elections/

As of about 6:30am the day after polls closed, here is where we stand:

Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie congratulated the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) [Jokowi] on his official Twitter account for leading the current quick count results.

“For the quick count results of the legislative elections that put PDI-P in the first place, and Golkar in the second, I congratulate PDI-P,” his tweet reads.

Finishing in second place is not a loss for the Golkar Party, he said, for there is no winning or losing for the Golkar Party.

This is a bit of a comeback for PDI-P, which had a poor showing early on and left presidential hopeful and frontrunner  Jokowi nervous.  He was falling far short of the 20% of party votes needed to be automatically nominated for president; he would have had to curry favor with the many other smaller parties to throw their support behind him—an unappetizing proposition especially in this contentious election year.

“Latest quick counts put PDI-P in the lead as expected but still with far less a percentage of the vote than expected. Keep following us on Southeast Asia Realtime as Indonesia moves toward the presidential election in July.

1. PDI-P:           19%
2. Golkar:         14%-15%
3. Gerindra:    12%”

Gerinda, as you will recall, is the party of Probowa. In a word: Yikes!

Also, news outlets are reporting that Islamist parties are faring better than expected over more pluralist parties.

“Jokowi has offered little clue to his policies but his popularity rests heavily on his no-nonsense style in running the capital, demanding his bureaucrats perform their jobs properly and by focusing many policies on improving the lives of ordinary Jakartans.” --Reuters

Read the New York Times’ April 9 article for a recap of the legislative election process and how it is really most noted not for the individuals who now hold those seats, but the percentage of seats each party wins, which indicates the strength of the presidential candidate’s chances in the July elections.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/world/asia/Indonesia-elections.html?_r=0