JAKARTA, Indonesia—Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo claimed victory in a closely fought Indonesian presidential election, while his rival disputed the unofficial vote count and said he wouldn't concede.
Those organizations had been roughly accurate in using quick counts of a sampling of polling stations to predict results of April legislative elections.
But Prabowo Subianto, a former army general from the era of authoritarian ruler Suharto, said he wouldn't concede. His camp said pollsters used by his campaign indicated he likely won by as much as four percentage points.
Mr. Subianto said he would announce his official stance only after those pollsters neared the end of their counts, while his campaign manager, Mohammad Mahfud, accused the Widodo camp of waging a "cyberwar" by spreading news of his win based on other pollsters. Official election results aren't expected until after July 20.
"It's very close and divisive race," said Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer at Indonesia Defense University. "I would've waited at least a few more hours until there was a definite count."
Hundreds of thousands of police and troops were deployed across the country to keep order before the polls opened, with the military cautioning that a margin of victory of less than 5% could lead to unrest in a nation where elections have largely been peaceful affairs.
There were no signs of disorder throughout the polling day in the archipelago nation. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for calm from both sides. Supporters of the candidates planned gatherings later in the day.
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