A deadlock in the presidential race in Southeast Asia's biggest economy stoked panic about the political stability of the country as both Indonesian candidates declared victory after the third presidential elections on Wednesday.

After votes were cast by some 135 million Indonesians, fears of disorder surfaced when both Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and ex-military general Prabowo Subianto declared victory prematurely on Thursday.

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Election results are not due until July 22. However, in the event that one candidate contests the outcome because of fraud or voting irregularities, the Constitutional Court will take over.

Though recent events reflect doubts about the Constitutional Court's integrity on deciding election results, some are expecting the presidential race to conclude there.

Analysts stated that the country's corruption-plagued history may indicate a greater possibility of intimidation, bribery and other tactics to discredit the official polls that must be transferred to regional centers mostly from remote areas spanning throughout the archipelago.

Jokowi, the first-ever presidential contender to place a significant mark in Indonesian presidential race without in any way being connected to former dictator Suharto, expressed his fear of being cheated during a news conference on Thursday: "I would ask everyone not to taint the sincerity of Indonesian society's aspirations in the election."

The alleged leading Indonesian presidential candidate is having concerns as to the possible "fraud in the aggregation process," political analyst Paul Rowland stated citing that "there are plenty of opportunities there to change the numbers."

"We feel democracy is in serious, serious danger of being hijacked by the other side," Prabowo's chief political aide and brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, stated during an interview with foreign reporters.

Enjoying a young democratic government, Indonesia had been colonized and occupied by western countries and other more powerful Asian countries in the beginning. In 1901, the nation built its first government under nationalist President Sukarno who was ousted by year 1967 when US-supported dictator Suharto came to office.

During his 31 years in the seat, Suharto introduced the "New Order" administration which was built within a strong, centralized and military-dominated government, bringing the nation to a significant economic growth and elevated health, education and living standards.

However, the authoritarianism and prevalent corruption during his time brought about unrest which led to Suharto being forced to resign in 1998 by a pro-democracy movement, marking the beginning of the country's young and unstable democratic reign.

TagsIndonesia, Presidential Race, authoritarian, democracy