VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

As many as 40 world leaders and three international organizations have congratulated Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on winning the 17 April presidential election, following the May 21 announcement made by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

KPU's final tally indicated a win for incumbent President Jokowi and his running mate Ma'ruf Amin in the election by garnering 55.5 percent of the votes, outshining Prabowo-Sandi, who had received 44.5 of the votes.

"At the time the announcement was made by KPU, a number of heads of state congratulated the President. As of today, 40 countries plus three international organizations have expressed congratulations," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said, after meeting President Jokowi at the Presidential Palace on Monday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in were the among the world leaders who telephoned Jokowi to congratulate him.

Other leaders sent their congratulations through personal Twitter posts and diplomatic notes, including Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, as well as the U.S President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

With the development of technology, according to Marsudi, options for sending congratulatory messages have become varied, and no longer are transmitted only through diplomatic channels.  She also expected Jokowi would receive more congratulatory messages, as diplomatic notes continue to arrive.

Marsudi noted that world leaders appreciated the elections in Indonesia, which were carried out by upholding democratic values, transparency and peace. (ant)