Any criticism of the election has not affected their optimism about the country’s prospects in business, with growth projected following quick count results that show the incumbent, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, holding a firm lead.

Shinta Kamdani, the deputy chairwoman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said she believed the business sector was ready to grow after the general election.

“Businesspeople see the elections as a success and peaceful event. [...] To date, both the market and investors have responded to [the elections] positively. We hope this positive climate will remain,” she told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The country recently concluded its first-ever simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, with millions of citizens voting at around 800,000 polling stations across the country. Twelve pollsters have released their quick count results and all put Jokowi and his running mate Ma’ruf Amin in the lead with 54 to 55 percent of the vote.

Prabowo and his running mate Sandiaga Uno are trailing with around 44 to 45 percent.

However, Prabowo disputed the figures and instead declared victory based on his own camp’s calculations, claiming he won the election with 62 percent of the vote. Shinta expressed regret over Prabowo’s statement, saying it was causing political disputes in society.

Yet, she said the business sector was not affected, with businesspeople putting their firm trust in the quick counts, which were conducted by independent firms.

“We believe the quick counts [...] were completed in a professional and reliable manner. Yet, we also respect the fact that the official decision has yet to be announced,” she said, referring to an official announcement from the General Elections Commission (KPU) that will be made on May 22.

Even with the positive responses, Kadin urged all stakeholders, including the candidates, to do their part in maintaining a peaceful situation, as the business sector was prone to being affected by instability.

“Until next month, we must continue to build trust with investors to show that Indonesia is a good and comfortable place to do business,” she said.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) executive director Danang Girindrawardana said rational statements from the country’s opinion leaders were important.

“What worries businesspeople are the reactions of opinion leaders, as they can negatively impact the investment climate in Indonesia,” he said. Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI) chairman Adhi S. Lukman said his members responded positively to the quick count results.

He said although businesspeople would wait for the official result from the KPU, past elections showed that official results were not much different from quick counts.

“That’s why we believe that quick counts are already a representation [of the official result],” he said on Sunday in a text message to the Post.

He further said the unofficial result was a good sign for business, as it ensured that policies would largely remain the same.

“For business, a change of government and policies is a new burden and causes uncertainty,” he added.

Erwin Aksa, a businessman who shifted his political support from Jokowi’s camp to Prabowo’s, said business stability was important.“The important thing for business is that the election has run honestly and fairly, so all parties can accept it sincerely,” said Aska, who chairs the Prabowo camp’s monitoring center for vote counts.

The Indonesia Composite Index closed Thursday at 6,507, 0.4 percent higher than the previous market opening on Tuesday at 6,481. Meanwhile, net foreign buying on Thursday reached Rp 1.43 trillion (US$101.86 million), with the rupiah hovering at 14,000 per US dollar.

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