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Upbeat Prabowo casts ballot in Bogor, expects to get 63 percent of vote
"I'm feeling optimistic," Prabowo said. "We estimate [we will win] with 63 percent."
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Presidential contender Prabowo Subianto cast his vote at polling station 41 in Bojong Koneng, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday. (JP/Made Anthony Iswara)
Presidential contender Prabowo Subianto cast his vote at a polling station in Bojong Koneng, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday.
Clad in a white safari jacket, Prabowo set foot on the damp grass of the hilly area at 8:15 a.m. as he strolled with Gerindra Party deputy chairman Fadli Zon to the registration table, swarmed by dozens of reporters.
Nearby residents had also been lining up since morning, with some jostling for the best position to shake hands with the presidential candidate.
After voting, Prabowo waved his ink-dipped pinkie finger to the crowd before him, triggering his followers to chant his name.
"I'm feeling optimistic," Prabowo said. "We estimate [we will win] with 63 percent."
Throughout the election, he has urged his supporters to act peacefully. However, he added that any chaos that could ensue would be "out of his hands".
"If the election is held honestly, there should be no problem," Prabowo said. "But I don't have power over [any potential conflicts]."
After answering questions from reporters, Prabowo stopped several times to embrace toddlers carried by their mothers, occasionally lifting them into the air, before stepping inside his Lexus SUV.
Minutes later, he reappeared through the sunroof to wave his hands as the vehicle struggled to get through the mass of the crowd in front of it.
Afterwards, residents resumed their queuing to vote. According to the final voters list, 260 people aside from Prabowo were to vote at the same polling station.
In the 2019 elections, Prabowo and his running mate Sandiaga Uno are going head-to-head with incumbent Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his running mate Ma'ruf Amin to win the right to occupy the Presidential Palace for the next five years.
