INDONESIA, for the time being, is in a state of limbo. With both presidential candidates claiming victory based on quick counts of votes, an election that promised the country’s third democratic transfer of power on July 9 is now mired in uncertainty.

When Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo hinted at his possible victory, citing quick counts from six pollsters, his claim was bolstered by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri at a news conference held at her home.

The Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle chairman was more forthright in her proclamation that “even though this is still in the vote-counting process, we already can say that Mr Joko will be president”.

In a close race, a loser is unlikely to accept the quick count as authoritative. Unsurprisingly, Mr Joko’s rival, Mr Prabowo Subianto, quickly countered that he would not yield, referring to polling data indicating that he had an approximate lead of 2.5 percentage points.

… The writer, an associate professor, is coordinator of the Indonesia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.