JAKARTA - Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto on Oct 20 will take over as president of the world's third-largest democracy after sweeping the country's election with policies like free meals for school children and with the outgoing leader's son as his running mate.
The 73-year-old former special forces commander won the Feb 14 contest with nearly 60 per cent of the vote and has spent the past nine months building a formidable parliamentary coalition.
Prabowo will officially become Indonesia's eighth president in the morning after he is sworn in during a ceremony at Indonesia's parliament, flanked by outgoing President Joko Widodo or Jokowi as he is popularly known.
Prabowo, who unsuccessfully ran for the presidency twice before, is expected to give a speech to lawmakers at the parliament's upper house after the swearing-in and before heading to the presidential palace.
He will be joined by his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37, the eldest son of Widodo.
As they make their way to the palace, they will be greeted by thousands of supporters who are expected to throng Jakarta's streets, which have been lined with posters of the incoming leader.
Prabowo and Gibran are expected to stop at seven stages that have been set up along the way between parliament and the palace, Nusron Wahid, a Prabowo aide, told reporters on Oct 18.
Widodo's supporters are also expected to attend the celebrations and bid farewell to Indonesia's outgoing leader.
After two terms and a decade in power, he has left an indelible mark on the nation of 280 million, presiding over a period of strong economic growth and massive infrastructure development.
Critics also say, though, his rule has been marked by a rise in old-time patronage and dynastic politics, and they warn about diminished integrity in courts and other state institutions.
Indonesian police and military have put in place strict security measures, deploying at least 100,000 personnel across the city, including snipers and anti-riot units.
Prabowo is expected to meet foreign dignitaries, including about 20 heads of state, later at the presidential palace, said Hasan Nasbi, the head of the presidential communications organisation.
China said it is sending Vice-President Han Zheng to the inauguration. The delegation from the United States is being led by US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
During his campaign, Prabowo billed himself to voters and investors alike as the "continuity candidate".
He has set a target to accelerate economic growth to eight per cent from a current rate of 5 per cent, pledged to make Indonesia self-sufficient in production of staples, and signalled a more active role on the global stage.
Past allegations against Prabowo of involvement in the kidnapping of student activists and human rights abuses in Papua and East Timor, however, have also raised concern about Indonesia's trajectory of democracy, human rights advocates say.
He has always denied the allegations that led to his dismissal from the military in 1998, the same year Indonesia broke free from the decades-long authoritarian rule of former President Suharto.
ALSO READ: How Indonesia's outgoing Jokowi steered his son Gibran to vice-presidency
