Indonesia readies for presidential inauguration

JAKARTA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — Indonesia is intensifying security for the inauguration of Prabowo Subianto, the winner of the 2024 Indonesian presidential election, who is set to be sworn in as the eighth president on Sunday, succeeding Joko Widodo, who has led the nation since 2014.
More than 20 country leaders and over 10 special envoys are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prabowo and his vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo’s eldest son, at the Senayan legislative complex in South Jakarta, Presidential Secretariat head Heru Budi Hartono told reporters on Friday. The guests are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Saturday, he added.
The Southeast Asian country’s former presidents, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, along with other candidates in the presidential election, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, are among the notable invitees.
On Friday morning at the National Monument Park (Monas), Indonesian military and police commandos attended a security roll call in preparation for the safety of the guests at the ceremony. The roll call was led by Military Commander Agus Subiyanto and National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo.
Approximately 24,000 soldiers and policemen have reportedly been deployed to secure the inauguration ceremony at the legislative building and along the route to the palace, starting from Thursday until Wednesday.
The inauguration session is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time, with the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) reading the decision of the General Elections Commission on the results of the 2024 presidential election. Prabowo, a former army general currently serving as defense minister, and Gibran, former mayor of Surakarta, will take their oaths as president and vice president following their one-round victory in the February election.
The MPR is set to hold two rehearsals on Friday and Saturday for the inauguration at the legislative complex, where Prabowo is expected to announce his cabinet members.
“We’re about 90 percent done with everything,” MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani told state news agency Antara recently. Muzani also confirmed that Widodo will attend the inauguration ceremony after the MPR sent an official invitation to the presidential palace in Jakarta on Monday.
Widodo is reportedly set to return to his hometown of Surakarta immediately after Prabowo’s inauguration and related events in Jakarta, marking the transition of power.
The outgoing president has repeatedly stated that he plans to exit politics once he steps down and retires to Surakarta, the city where he was born, raised, and began his political career as mayor nearly two decades ago. ■