Jakarta (ANTARA) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended congratulations to Indonesian presidential candidate Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on winning the election and second presidential term, based on Antara's monitoring of the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia's Facebook page, Wednesday.

On May 21, 2019, the General Election Commission (KPU) had made an official declaration that the presidential and vice presidential candidate pair Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin won the majority votes in the Indonesian presidential election held on April 17, 2019.

After the announcement was made, Japanese Prime Minister Abe sent a message to Indonesian President Jokowi in which he congratulated him on being re-elected as the Indonesian president for the 2019-2024 period.

The Japanese PM was also optimistic of being able to work along with President Jokowi to intensify relations between both nations.

Apart from the Japanese prime minister, congratulatory messages for Jokowi on his re-election as Indonesia's president also trickled in from other leaders and heads of state, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Earlier, on May 21, at 1:28 a.m. local time, the KPU officially declared Jokowi the winner of the presidential election after the national vote tally concluded.

The final tally showed that the Jokowi-Maruf Amin pair garnered 85 million votes, or 55.5 percent of the national vote, compared to contenders Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno's 68 million votes, or 44.5 percent.

With this announcement, Jokowi has vowed to implement programs to realize greater equality and endorse social justice for all Indonesians, irrespective of their political differences.

"Let us unite in building our beloved nation and homeland for the sake of peace and welfare of our future generations---the generation of our grandchildren in the future," Jokowi emphasized.

Translator: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019