PM Modi congratulates Joko Widodo on re-election as Indonesian President

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Indonesia's Joko Widodo on being re-elected as president for a second term in last month's presidential elections of the South-East Asian nation.

In a series of tweets, Modi also said that he was looking forward to working with Widodo to strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Indonesia.

"Heartiest congratulations @jokowi on your re-election! As two large democracies, we take collective pride in successful celebration of democracy. We wish you and people of Indonesia all success under your dynamic leadership," the Prime Minister tweeted.

"As our nations mark seven decades of our diplomatic relationship, I look forward to working closely with you to further deepen our bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. @jokowi," he added.

Indonesia's Election Commission, earlier in the day, confirmed that Widodo won the second term as president after beating rival Prabowo Subianto, a retired general.

However, the Prabowo-led opposition party reportedly refused to sign and validate the official results, as per local media reports.

The official results were announced a day earlier on Tuesday, while opposition parties were prepared to hold a protest on Wednesday.

On April 17, Indonesia held its biggest-ever election, a massive one day poll featuring more than 190 million registered voters and a record 245,000 candidates vying for the presidency, parliamentary seats and local legislator positions.

-ANI