Indonesia's presidential hopefuls each claim win

Leader calls for restraint as close race sparks fears of national unrest

Both presidential hopefuls running in Indonesia's election claimed victory on Wednesday following the publication of differing preliminary results.

The standoff in the hotly contested race to lead the nation prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to call for restraint from both sides until official results are announced in two weeks' time.

Both hopefuls claimed victory in the presidential election based on results of contradictory quick counts by various polling agencies that were published in the media.

Quick counts that favored Prabowo Subianto said the ex-general won 52 percent of the votes, compared to Joko Widodo, who received 49 percent.

Prabowo expressed gratituded for the "support and mandate from the people of Indonesia" at an afternoon news conference, in response to results of the quick count that favored him.

He thanked the people for the mandate granted to him and his running mate to lead the country.

The 62-year-old, who has pushed a strongman image on the campaign trail to win votes, said survey institutes used by his campaign team showed that he and running mate Hatta Rajasa won the election.

Speaking earlier in the day, he pledged to "respect the people's decision".

However, he added: "It must be really their decision and not an engineered one. If it's engineered, we must take clear action."

Meanwhile, Joko Widodo also claimed victory in the election, based on the results of quick counts conducted by other polling agencies. Those results showed him getting 52 percent of the votes.

A spokesman for Widodo's campaign, Anies Baswedan, called on Prabowo and his running mate to behave like "statesmen", adding that "all credible survey institutes declared our victory".

The close race has sparked fears of unrest, and Yudhoyono, the president, urged both sides to "restrain themselves and not organize street rallies to celebrate until the announcement" by the General Election Commission, or KPU.

Both Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo ordered their cadres, supporters and volunteers to monitor and escort the transfer of ballots from polling stations to the commission until the official count is announced on July 22.

Fadli Zon, deputy chairman of the Gerindra Party called on supporters of both candidates' camps to practice restraint to avoid possible confrontations while waiting for the announcement.

Xinhua - AFP