However, years of economic hardship, characterised by hyperinflation and rising threats from communist ideologies, led to Sukarno’s replacement by another authoritarian leader, President Suharto, who ruled from 1967 to 1998.
Over half of the world’s population will vote to elect their country’s leaders this year. This includes elections in eight of the world’s most populous countries: India, Brazil, Indonesia, the US, Bangladesh, Mexico, Pakistan and Russia.
Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia with a population of 277 million, had 204 million eligible voters cast their ballots on Feb 14 to elect the eighth president. This marks only the fifth election since Indonesia became an independent republic in 1945. The first president, Sukarno, held power for 22 years after consolidating control and becoming “President for Life”.
