Two competing candidates in Indonesia's 2014 presidential race have both claimed victory in today's election. Indonesia only became a democracy two decades ago, and many worry that the 2014 presidential election results election may rock wash away the shallow seeds of democracy.

For background, Indonesia is a country of 240 million people and the world's most populous Muslim nation. Until twenty years ago the country was run by the Suharto dictatorship, which has retained close ties and influence to the Indonesian government to this day.  

The 2014 Indonesian election was a hotly contested and incredibly negative race between reformer Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo and ex-general Prabowo Subianto, who had close ties to the Suharto dictatorship.

According to the three most reputable quick-count surveys, soft-spoken Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo won the election in Southeast Asia's largest economy with 52 percent of the vote, but his Suharto-era opponent, Prabowo Subianto, said other data indicated he had won.

Widodo was quick to claim victory, which angered his opponent. "At this point, according to quick counts, Jokowi-J.K. look to have won," said Mr. Joko, referring to himself and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla.

Widodo is the first candidate in an Indonesian direct presidential election with no connection to former dictator Suharto's 1966-1998 regime and its excesses.

Multiple independent polling firms conducting so-called quick counts, which are taken from vote tallies from a small sample of polling stations across the far-flung country, indicated that Mr. Joko had a lead of four to six percentage points over Mr. Prabowo. The quick counts conducted by those firms have been highly accurate in past elections.

The quick counts tally a representative sample of votes cast around the country and have accurately forecast the results of every Indonesian national election since 2004, including this past April's parliamentary polls. It will be around two weeks before votes are officially tallied and the 2014 Indonesaian election results are officially announced.

This is "not a victory for the party, not a victory for the campaign team, but this is a victory for the people of Indonesia," Widodo, known by his nickname Jokowi, told supporters from a historical site in Jakarta where the nation's independence was declared.

General Subianto, who was a  general in the Suharto regime and the late dictator's former son-in-law, said he had different quick-count data showing he had won.

"Thank God, all the data from the quick counts show that we, Prabowo-Hatta, gained the people's trust," Subianto told a news conference, referring to his running mate, Hatta Rajasa.

"We ask all the coalition's supporters and Indonesian people to guard and escort this victory until the official count" by the election commission, Subianto said.

Later, he told supporters that his opponent went too far by giving a victory speech, saying "a true warrior does not need to show off his strength," while adding that his camp is not weak and has not given up.

Widodo's appeal is that despite a lack of experience in national politics, he is seen as a man of the people who wants to advance democratic reforms and is untainted by the often corrupt military and business elite that has run Indonesia for decades. Indonesia is one of the most underegulated countries in the world, for example cigarettes are widely sold as medicine.

Subianto, meanwhile, had a dubious human rights record during his military career, but is seen as a strong and decisive leader.

Natalia Soebagjo, chair of Transparency International's executive board in Indonesia, said it was reckless for either candidate to declare victory before the official results are announced. She said that the three most reputable quick-count results showed Widodo as the leader, and that she did not trust the surveys Subianto had cited.

"If this continues, I predict in the next 10 days we might see trouble," she said.

"They can contest it in legal terms and in social terms by creating unrest," Soebagjo added. "It all depends on what these candidates really want. Is their thirst for power so great that they would want to fight it out to the death?"

The US was quick to congradulate Indonesia, saying, "As the world's second- and third-largest democracies, the United States and Indonesia have many shared interests and values, including a strong belief in the importance of respect for human rights, inclusive governance, and equal opportunities for all people," the statement said.

Outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged both sides to "restrain themselves" and not allow their supporters to publicly declare victory until the election commission decides the winner. Yudhoyono, also a general in the Suharto regime, was elected president in 2004. He served two five-year terms and was prevented by the constitution from seeking re-election in 2014.