By Jonathan Thatcher and Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - When Indonesian furniture business owner Joko "Jokowi" Widodo turned to a career in politics nine years ago, he was a complete novice. He is set to become Indonesia's first leader not to have emerged from the political or military elite. The Elections Commission on Tuesday announced that Jokowi had beaten his rival, ex-general Prabowo Subianto, in the July 9 race by six percentage points - the country's closest presidential election ever. It is Jokowi's meteoric rise through the ranks of local government, his refusal to be intimidated by entrenched interests and in particular his famous impromptu visits around Jakarta that have endeared him to a broad swathe of Indonesians, in particular the poor and minority groups. Source: Reuters








