JAKARTA — Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, president Jokowi's son, registered on Wednesday (Oct 25) for next year's presidential election, setting the stage for a three-way race the former military commander is tipped to win.

Nearly 205 million Indonesians, a third of them younger than 30, are eligible to vote in presidential and legislative elections to be held on Feb 14 in the world's third-largest democracy.

Thousands of cheering supporters met Mr Prabowo, 72, and Mr Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, as they handed their credentials and manifesto to election officials in the capital, Jakarta.

"We're ready to go forward with our programmes, visions to continue development so that Indonesia can be an advanced and prosperous country," said Mr Prabowo.

He is contesting the presidency for the third time after narrowly losing in 2014 and 2019 to Mr Widodo, popularly known as Mr Jokowi, precluded from running again because of term limits.

In an election manifesto obtained by Reuters, Mr Prabowo pledged to continue construction of Indonesia's new capital city on the island of Borneo and to further develop downstreaming industries, among Mr Jokowi's key policies.

He will also seek to achieve self-sufficiency in food, water and energy, while establishing a state revenue agency and looking to boost to 23 per cent the ratio of state revenues to gross domestic product, the document showed, without giving details.

Former special forces chief Prabowo has a narrow lead in opinion surveys over the two other contenders: former provincial governor Ganjar Pranowo and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan.

A survey by pollster Indikator Politik released on Friday showed 37 per cent of 4,300 respondents backed Mr Prabowo, while Mr Ganjar had 35 per cent and Mr Anies had 22 per cent. Nearly 7 per cent were undecided, the survey, taken from Oct 2 to 10, showed.

Mr Prabowo and Mr Gibran, 36, signed up on the last day for registration, following days of political manoeuvring and public outrage over a last-minute court decision on eligibility that allowed Mr Jokowi's son, a relative newcomer to politics, to run.

Mr Prabowo's decision to partner with Mr Gibran could attract some of the president's massive support base, analysts say.

But activists and analysts have raised concerns over what they see as Mr Jokowi's attempts to retain influence after leaving office.

Analysts say Mr Prabowo, once disgraced by a murky human rights record, has now cultivated a persona that is more charismatic statesman than fiery, pious nationalist to appeal to younger voters.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Gibran, who is also mayor of Surakarta city, said their ticket would roll out loans for digital start-ups and keep developing the mineral processing industry and green economy.

"We all believe that the existing programmes have brought Indonesia into the gate of advancement," he told a stadium packed with supporters. "Our duty is to continue and perfect programmes related to youth, millennial generation, Gen Z." REUTERS