Indonesia's president-elect Prabowo Subianto revealed that he only ran in the 2024 presidential election after incumbent President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo gave him his blessing.

Saying what was previously unsaid

That was his third time running for the role of president, and fifth go at the Indonesia presidential election.

It appears that third time was the charm for Prabowo, who won the 2024 Indonesia presidential election with a landslide victory at 58 per cent of the votes.

This is despite the controversy surrounding the election, chiefly Jokowi's tacit support for Prabowo and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who coincidentally is Jokowi's son.

Some have accused Jokowi of abusing his power to interfere and influence the election in Prabowo and Gibran's favour.

Gibran's vice president candidacy, in itself, was fraught with controversy.

However, Jokowi has never explicitly endorsed Prabowo-Gibran nor any of the other two presidential-vice presidential pair.

This makes Prabowo's claim — that he ran after Jokowi gave his blessings — all the more significant, confirming that he and Gibran at least had some support from Jokowi.

Only ran with Jokowi's blessing and support

Jakarta Globe reported that Prabowo made that revelation on Apr. 28 during a gathering with the leaders of the Muslim organization Nadhlatul Ulama in Central Jakarta.

Prabowo said he had lost interest in running for the presidency after his previous two unsuccessful runs until his former arch rival Jokowi endorsed him.

He previously went up against Jokowi in the 2014 and 2019 Indonesia presidential elections and lost both times. After the 2019 bout, Jokowi brought Prabowo into the fold, making him Indonesia' Defence Minister.

"When I was asked if I would compete again for 2024, I explicitly said that my participation should receive the blessing and support from Mr Joko Widodo. Why? Because we need continuity and commitment to accomplishments," Prabowo said.

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Top image from @dpdgerindradkijakarta/Instagram