Former special forces commander Prabowo to take up Indonesian presidency

JAKARTA, indonesia — 

Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto connected Sunday volition instrumentality implicit arsenic president of the world's third-largest ideology aft sweeping the country's predetermination with policies similar escaped meals for schoolhouse children and with the outgoing leader's lad arsenic his moving mate.

The 73-year-old erstwhile peculiar forces commandant won the February 14 contention with astir 60% of the ballot and has spent the past 9 months gathering a formidable parliamentary coalition.

Prabowo volition officially go Indonesia's eighth president Sunday greeting aft helium is sworn successful during a ceremonial astatine Indonesia's parliament, flanked by outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Prabowo, who unsuccessfully ran for the presidency doubly before, is expected to springiness a code to lawmakers astatine the parliament's precocious location aft the swearing-in and earlier heading to the statesmanlike palace.

He volition beryllium joined by his moving mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37, the eldest lad of Jokowi.

As they marque their mode to the palace, they volition beryllium greeted by thousands of supporters expected to throng Jakarta streets that are lined with posters of the incoming leader.

Prabowo and Gibran are expected to halt astatine 7 stages that person been acceptable up on the mode betwixt parliament and the palace, Nusron Wahid, a Prabowo aide, told reporters Friday.

Jokowi supporters are besides expected to be the celebrations and bid farewell to Indonesia's outgoing leader.

After 2 presumption and a decennary successful power, Jokowi has near an indelible people connected the federation of 280 million, presiding implicit a play of beardown economical maturation and monolithic infrastructure development.

Critics say, though, his regularisation has been marked by a emergence successful old-time patronage and dynastic politics, and they pass astir diminished integrity successful courts and different authorities institutions.

Indonesian constabulary and subject person enactment successful spot strict information measures, deploying astatine slightest 100,000 unit crossed the city, including snipers and anti-riot units.

Prabowo is expected to conscionable with overseas dignitaries, including astir 20 heads of state, aboriginal Sunday astatine the statesmanlike palace, said Hasan Nasbi, the caput of the statesmanlike communications organization.

China said it is sending Vice President Han Zheng to the inauguration. The delegation from the United States is being led by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

During his campaign, Prabowo billed himself to voters and investors alike arsenic the "continuity candidate."

He has acceptable a people to accelerate economical maturation to 8% from a existent complaint of 5%, pledged to marque Indonesia self-sufficient successful accumulation of staples, and signaled a much progressive relation connected the planetary stage.

Past allegations against Prabowo of engagement successful the kidnapping of pupil activists and quality rights abuses successful Papua and East Timor, however, person besides raised interest astir Indonesia's trajectory of democracy, quality rights advocates say.

Prabowo has ever denied the allegations that led to his dismissal from the subject successful 1998, the aforesaid twelvemonth Indonesia broke escaped from the decades-long authoritarian regularisation of erstwhile President Suharto.