(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
For the first time in Indonesia's democratic history the country has a president who is not from the military or political elite.
Jokowo Widodo has been declared the winner.
He secured 53 per cent of the vote -- 8 million more votes than his rival, Prabowo Subianto.
As Rebecca Henschke reports from Jakarta, many see this is as a turning point for the country.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
40 year old musician Marzuki Mohammad voted for the first time in this election.
In the past he, like many of his generation, didn't feel as if there was anyone to vote for.
In 16 years of democracy, the faces on the ballot have been dominated by military and political elites.
But in Joko Widodo he saw someone he could believe in.
He wrote a rap about him that became a theme song for Jokowi supporters.
(Translated)"This election was crucial, it was historic. I, like most people, feel exhausted and sick of our democracy being dominated by the elite. This is our chance to fight against the corrupt elite and return democracy to the people."
He says he was also deeply worried about the rival candidate Prabowo Subianto winning.
He is the polar opposite of Jokowi.
A former general who commanded the army specials forces under Suharto's dictatorship, he was fired from the military for kidnapping student activists in the 1990s during the final days of Suharto's rule.
Musician Marzuki believes he would have taken Indonesia back to authoritarian rule.
(Translated)"There are lots of issues involving kidnappings and human rights abuses. I didn't want this nation to be built on lies, we have to become more transparent, we need to heal our wounds. We can forgive but we can't forget those things."
Prabowo Subianto's campaign was funded by two of Indonesia's wealthiest men -- Prabowo's brother and Golkar party chairman Abu Rizal Bakrie.
In contrast Jokowi's campaign was largely funded by crowd-sourcing.
For the first time, people in Indonesia donated money into bank accounts to pay for Jokowi's campaign.
Historian and respected author Goenawan Mohammad says he has never seen people so intensely involved in politics.
"This is one of the most beautiful moments in Indonesian history. The volunteers are the real heroes not the politicians. The people who put their money and their time into this idea of voting for Jokowi-- which is not a very clear idea but the sentiment is there. How people sacrificed themselves for a common cause-- which is unusual after so many years of cynicism. If I die tomorrow I am happy. I am happy to see this."
Jokowi is playing down his election victory, calling on supporters not to overly celebrate.
On board a fishing boat in Jakarta's historic harbour, he called for national unity.
(Translated)"We are telling on you it's time to unite as a Indonesian nation once again. You now need to repair the damaged relationships within families, between friends and divisions at the work place."
The election has been the most divisive in Indonesia's democractic history.
Prabowo ran an effective and slick campaign and Jokowi has won by only a slim margin.
Shortly before the official results was announced Prabowo Subianto said he was withdrawing from the count calling the ballot undemocratic.
(Translated)"There was massive, structural and systematic cheating during the 2014 election, We will exercise our constitutional right to reject the presidential election and declare it unconstitutional."
Listening in the front row is Ibu Warni and her husband.
They are dressed in the national colours of red and white and their five year old son is wearing a replica full military uniform and Prabowo pins.
(Translated)"We will protest this result. We can still take this to the constitutional court, there are many suspicious things. It is not possible that Jokowi could have won without some vote rigging."
She says her family will not accept Jokowi as their president.
(Translated)"He is not fit to be President, just look at this face, he looks like an ordinary person off the street. He hasn't served or fought for his nation. He was just brought from the village to the city. The only person who is ready to sacrificed himself for the good of the nation is Pak Prabowo."
Under Indonesia's election laws Prabowo now has the right to lodge a legal challenge in the Constitutional Court.
While there have been some cases of irregularities most international observers have declared the election free and fair.
And for the first time the election commission made all the vote tally forms from the thousands of polling stations publicly available on their official website.
A crowd-sourcing project, kawan.pemilu, attracted some 700 volunteers.
They have been downloading the forms and doing their own count.
Wandy Tuturoong works as a consultant in Jakarta's finance district -- during his free time he has been monitoring the voting.
"Now everyone can participate. Everybody can see. They know the process. There is no black box anymore. It is transparent. I think transparency is very important in government."
All eyes are now on Joko Widodo.
A man who was raised in a bamboo shack in a riverbank slum is now president of one of the world's largest democracies.
He now has the difficult task of firstly uniting the nation before needing to tackle issues such as rampant corruption, high unemployment, and Indonesia's crumbling infrastructure.
(Translated) "Now it's time for farmers to return to their fields, children to return to school, workers to the factories and offices. Forget about whether you voted for number one or two. Let's work together now as one nation. We are strong when united. We are united because we are strong."
