More than 200 million voters cast their ballots on Wednesday for leaders in 37 provinces, 93 cities, and 415 districts. While the official results will be announced between Nov. 30 and Dec. 15, independent pollsters have released their election counts.

Candidates backed by Prabowo's broad coalition, some of whom were also endorsed by former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, won most key provinces, including Central Java, West Java and East Java, according to initial results from the pollsters.

"This is a triumph for Prabowo and also Jokowi, but with Jakarta, it's a failure," Yanuar Nugroho, visiting senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told Reuters. 

"The executors of all Prabowo's programs are these regional leaders," he said. 

Central Java, West Java, and East Java are seen as pivotal because they are the most populous provinces, while Jakarta has national significance as the capital and, as seen with Jokowi, can be a stepping stone to run for the presidency. 

"The victory is important so that Prabowo's programmes could be well implemented and integrated," Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a senior official at Prabowo's Gerindra party, told Reuters. 

In Jakarta, the candidates for governor and deputy governor backed by the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) had between 49.49 percent to 51.1 percent of votes, pollsters said, ahead of the ticket backed by a coalition of 13 government-aligned parties and an independent pairing. 

Candidates must secure an outright majority to win in Jakarta, or there will be a second round of voting.

Official results are expected to be announced by December 15 at the latest, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU) regulation. 

The only province in Indonesia that did not participate in the local elections was Yogyakarta, as the country's cultural capital is led by a sultan who also acts as the governor.

Election analyst Titi Anggraini said the overall results would smooth the way for Prabowo to implement his own election pledges and give him room to start building a platform to run for re-election in 2029.

Yanuar also said the results will make it easier for Prabowo to implement his policies such as free meals for school children and others, poverty eradication and food self-sufficiency.

"Prabowo wants to consolidate his power so that there's no disruption towards his programmes," he said. 

Prabowo was sworn in as president last month, after a landslide election victory earlier this year. He has secured support from seven out of eight parties in the House of Representatives.