President Joko Widodo's seemingly decisive victory over his challenger Prabowo Subianto in Indonesia's presidential election confirms that Indonesians prefer a unifying and reliable status quo to unpredictable change and uncertainty.
In an election marked by fierce debate about national identity and economic direction, Widodo's chief advantage was incumbency. As in the 2009 election, when voters re-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by a wide margin, many Indonesians were inclined to support continuity in the absence of palpable economic counter-arguments.
