Indonesia goes to the polls today in what will be the world's biggest direct presidential election.

Some 193 million voters will elect more than 20,000 parliamentary and legislative members in national and local-level positions contested by more than 245,000 candidates.

But it's the battle for the presidency which will have the world's attention with the President Joko Widodo facing off against his old enemy and former army general Prabowo Subianto. </s> Metrotvnews.com, Jakarta: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo believes the Jakarta gubernatorial election runoff will run peacefully.



 "Political differences should not affect unity," Jokowi said on Wednesday.

Around 7,2 million people are eligible to vote.

The election is competed between incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and former education minister Anies Rasyid Baswedan.Around 13 thousand polling stations are prepared for the election.The polling stations will be closed at 01.00 PM local time . The unofficial quick counts will be released several hours later.(WAH) </s> Indonesia's Joko Widodo was on track to be re-elected as president of the world's third-biggest democracy Wednesday with pollsters giving him a wide lead over rival Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general.

Based on data collected at polling stations, Saiful Mujani Research Centre, Indo Barometer and Indikator Politik Indonesia said Widodo was holding a strong lead, although official results are not due until next month.

Saiful Mujani Research Centre said its "quickcount" measure put Widodo at 55.34% against his rival's 44.66%, Indo Barometer said the vote was at 55.36% to 44.64% in Widodo's favor, while Indikator Politik Indonesia put the race at 55.97% to 44.03%.

Voting appeared to go smoothly, though ballots weren't available at two districts in Jayapura, the capital of easternmost Papua province, where angry residents argued with police.

About 193 million people are eligible to vote in polls that will decide who leads the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation and third-largest democracy after India and the U.S.

The presidential race is set to be a rematch between incumbent President "Jokowi" Widodo, 57, from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) and Subianto, 67, from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Citizens will also elect members of the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council and provincial and municipal councils.

Titi Anggraini, executive director of election watchdog the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), said that previously, legislative elections were held first in April, followed by elections for president and vice president in July.

This time, however, voters coming to polling stations received five ballots at once: gray ballots for president and vice president, yellow ballots for the House of Representatives, red for the Regional Representative Council, blue for the Provincial Legislative Council and green for regency/city-level councils.

"It is not excessive to say that the 2019 elections are very monumental and historic elections for Indonesia," Titi told Anadolu Agency.

She said they are monumental because it will be a very large-scale but also historic election as this was something that had never occurred before in the course of Indonesia's electoral democracy.

"Of course, all parties want to be a part of this monumental and historic event," she added.

Known for his business in the furnishings sector, Widodo is from the Solo region on the island of Java.

Widodo's vice presidential candidate and one of the country's leading religious leaders, 76-year-old Ma'ruf Amin, was the chairman of the country's top clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Subianto, on the other hand, is a member of an elite family in the natural resources business. He used to be a general in the Indonesian Special Forces before entering politics in 2004 in the Golkar Party. He later founded Gerindra.

Both candidates first ran against each other in the 2014 presidential election, when Subianto lost by 6 percentage points to Widodo.

Opinion polls have consistently given a large lead of as much as 20 percentage points to Widodo, though analysts say the race is likely tighter. </s> Metrotvnews.com, Jakarta: The Jakarta Metro Police chief Inspector General Mochamad Iriawan has confirmed that the Jakarta runoff election run smoothly.



 The election was held on Wednesday morning. It was competed by incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and former education minister Anies Rasyid Baswedan.

The polling stations were opened from 07.00-13.00 local time. They were guarded by police, military and Satpol PP officers."The situation was conducive," Iriawan said.The offficial result will be announced early May. The winner will be inaugurated at the end of the year.(WAH) </s> Voters will decide between President Joko Widodo and former general Prabowo Subianto, and choose more than 20,000 legislators

This article is more than 4 months old

This article is more than 4 months old

Tens of millions of Indonesians have started voting for a new president and more than 20,000 legislative seats in the nation’s biggest – and one of the world’s most complicated – ballots.

In the world’s third-largest democracy and largest Muslim-majority nation, almost 193 million Indonesians are registered to vote across 17,000 islands. On Wednesday morning voting kicked off at 7am local time in restive Papua. It will end at 1pm in Sumatra.

Voters are flocking to more than 800,000 polling stations where they will punch holes in ballots – to make clear their candidate choice – and then dip a finger in halal ink, a measure to prevent double-voting.

Indonesia: 193m people, 17,000 islands, one big election. Here's what you need to know Read more

It is the first time Indonesia is holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections – a hugely complex logistical undertaking – but it is the presidential race that has consumed much of the nation’s focus.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a former mayor and furniture salesman from central Java, is up against the fiery nationalist and former army general Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo, the former son-in-law of Indonesia’s longtime ruler Suharto, is running with Sandiaga Uno, a former private equity manager, while the president controversially chose Ma’ruf Amin, 76, a conservative Islamic leader, as his vice-presidential running mate.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Indonesian election workers carry ballot boxes as they cross a river to deliver them to remote villages in Maros, South Sulawesi. Photograph: Daeng Mansur/EPA

In an election campaign that has been marred by fake news, identity politics and attempts by the candidates to outdo each other in displays of religiosity, Jokowi has for months maintained a double-digit lead over his opponent – if the the country’s most credible polls are to be believed.

“I’m excited, we only get to do this once every five years,” said Neneng Kursiah, 37, after completing her ballot at a Jakarta polling booth.

“We are for Prabowo in this area, we think he will bring prices of staple foods down and work hard,” said Firman, 42, a voter in Jakarta’s south, chimed in, “But if people want to vote for someone else that’s okay too.”

“Should be tight, maybe 50-50 said Bambang Sukanto, a local council worker at a different voting station, “So we are going to watch and make see.”

Contemplating whether one of the only true remaining democracies in south-east Asia could be prone to a political upset akin to Brexit, Trump or Duterte, analysts predict Indonesia is likely to buck global trends.

“I think Indonesia was ahead of the curve in that aspect of democracy because the anti-establishment outsider, Joko Widodo, won in 2014 already,” says an Indonesia analyst, Kevin O’Rourke. “Ironically, the incumbent is the outsider in this race, meanwhile Prabowo Subianto is not the outsider, or anti-establishment figure, he is a quintessential member of the elite.”

Jokowi’s 2014 win against Prabowo was hailed as a victory for Indonesia’s young democracy – the first time a figure untethered to the military or political elite had been elected head of state.

'Don't teach me democracy!': an uneasy audience with Indonesia's Prabowo Read more

As president, Jokowi has impressed voters with his commitment to building infrastructure and social welfare, but has drawn criticism for failing to address past human rights abuses and chronic corruption, and most recently for leveraging the state apparatus, including law enforcement agencies and Islamic groups, to solidify his support base.

Ayu Dyah Widarti, a volunteer for Jokowi, has spent her morning riding around on her bicycle, checking on the voting process at various polls in Jakarta’s south.

“People are enthusiastic, smiling, and it’s been smooth,” she says.

Ayu says she is strong supporter of the incumbent. “He has a vision, he in sincere, he works hard, hard, hard. He has high integrity and is honest. And he doesn’t have a problematic background, or any baggage,” she says,

“There is already evidence of his leadership, from when he was Solo mayor, Jakarta governor and also a president. He has built a lot of infrastructure and not just for Jakarta, but all over Indonesia, for all Indonesians.”

Some voters, disillusioned with the president and also the alternative, a former special forces commander accused of various human rights abuses, have vowed to “golput”, or abstain, in protest.

In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s vote, the opposition has claimed the integrity of the electoral list is undermined by the existence of millions of “ghost” voters – a move some analysts believe indicates they are laying the groundwork for a legal challenge if they lose.

There have been other hiccups, too. A video that circulated last week allegedly showed bags of ballot papers found in Malaysia that were pre-marked for Jokowi. There is also concern about rampant vote buying and the inundation of overseas polling stations in recent days, which have reportedly prevented hundreds from voting, have generated concern.

Indonesia’s electoral commission has pledged to investigate, and Wednesday’s election, a government-mandated national holiday, is expected to proceed peacefully and under the watchful eye of voters, thousands of whom plan to monitor the open-air count after the polls close.

The polls present a huge logistical challenge in a country stretching 4,800km across more than 17,000 islands, with a population of more than 260 million, home to hundreds of ethnic groups and languages.

Officials are moving cardboard ballot boxes by motorbikes, boats and planes – as well as elephants and horses – to reach mountaintop villages and communities deep in the jungle.

A series of so-called “quick counts” are expected to give a reliable indication of the presidential winner later on Wednesday. Official results are not expected until May. </s> Ten days after Indonesia held the world’s biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday.

The April 17 elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ones, with an aim to cut costs.

Voting was largely peaceful and was estimated to have drawn 80 percent of the total 193 million voters, who each had to punch up to five ballot papers in over 800,000 polling stations.

But conducting the eight-hour vote in a country that stretches more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from its western to eastern tips proven to be both a Herculean logistical feat and deadly for officials, who had to count ballot papers by hand.

As of Saturday night, 272 election officials had died, mostly from overwork-related illnesses, while 1,878 others had fallen ill, said Arief Priyo Susanto, spokesman of the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The Health Ministry issued a circular letter on April 23 urging health facilities to give utmost care for sick election staff, while the Finance Ministry is working on compensation for families of the deceased, Susanto added.

The KPU has come under fire due to the rising death toll.

“The KPU is not prudent in managing the workload of staff,” said Ahmad Muzani, deputy chairman of the campaign of opposition presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, reported by a news website. </s> Ten days after Indonesia held the world's biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday.

The April 17 elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ones, with an aim to cut costs.

Voting was largely peaceful and was estimated to have drawn 80 percent of the total 193 million voters, who each had to punch up to five ballot papers in over 800,000 polling stations.

But conducting the eight-hour vote in a country that stretches more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from its western to eastern tips proven to be both a Herculean logistical feat and deadly for officials, who had to count ballot papers by hand.

As of Saturday night, 272 election officials had died, mostly from overwork-related illnesses, while 1,878 others had fallen ill, said Arief Priyo Susanto, spokesman of the General Elections Commission (KPU). </s> At least 20 people in Indonesia were arrested by the police for allegedly provoking riots in Jakarta following official results of the recent election that showed President Joko Widodo had been re-elected.

The governor of the Indonesian capital, Anies Baswedan confirmed on Tuesday, May 21 that "As per 9 o'clock this morning, there were 200 people hurt being brought to five hospitals" and "The number of people dead was six."

Television footages showed dozens of protesters dancing in the street in the Tanah Abang district of central Jakarta. As per the Reuters, a separate crowd of the protesters in front of the election supervisory body threw rocks at police.

The General Election Commission (KPU) on Tuesday confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, which gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for his opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto.

Widodo won more than 85 million votes of a total of 154 million casts in the world's third-largest democracy, but Prabowo told reporters he believed there had been widespread cheating and about 1,000 supporters gathered in Jakarta a day earlier.

On Monday, an election supervisory agency dismissed claims of systematic cheating, citing a lack of evidence. Independent observers have said the poll was free and fair.

Protests that started peacefully on Tuesday turned violent in the evening, forcing police to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. Cars parked near an apartment housing the police's mobile brigade were set ablaze, media reported.

"As of now, police have arrested more than 20 people we thought were the provocateurs and who did other crimes," said police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo.

Prasetyo said police were checking on reports of casualties but stressed that security officers on the ground, which include military personnel, were not equipped with live bullets.

News website Tirto reported a man died of bullet wounds in Tanah Abang, quoting a doctor at a hospital near the site.

Indonesian authorities have said 40,000 police and army personnel were on duty across Jakarta in a bid to maintain security. </s> Governor of Indonesia's capital Basuki Tjahaja Purnama shows his ballot during an election for Jakarta's governor in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian Islamist groups on Monday called on the government to suspend the Christian governor of the capital and for the courts to convict him of blasphemy, demands they will make again at a rally outside parliament on Tuesday.

Islamist groups have held two big rallies since November against the governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is on trial for insulting the Koran, and in the midst of an election in which he hopes to win a second term.

"Our demands to parliament are that they urge the government to suspend Purnama ... and urge the Supreme Court and judges to detain him and impose the maximum sentence," said Muhammad al Khaththath of the Islamic People's Forum.

The forum is one of the groups organizing the Tuesday rally.

Previous rallies drew hundreds of thousands of people and raised concern about the erosion of religious tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

Purnama, Jakarta's first ethnic Chinese and Christian leader, denies insulting the Koran.

He has been allowed to remain in office while the court case is going on but faces up to four years in prison if found guilty of blasphemy.

His supporters say the charge against him is politically motivated.

Last Wednesday, he stood against two Muslim candidates in a city governor election but none of them got enough votes to win outright.

A second round is due in mid-April with Purnama competing against a former education minister, Anies Baswedan, who has appealed to the Muslim vote in the city of more than 10 million.

Jakarta police have stepped up security ahead of Tuesday's demonstration which up to 10,000 people are expected to join, said police spokesman Argo Yuwono.

The Jakarta election is widely seen as a proxy battle for the next presidential election in 2019.

Purnama is a former deputy of President Joko Widodo, when Widido was Jakarta governor, and he is being backed by the president's party.

Baswedan is backed by a retired general, Prabowo Subianto, who Widodo defeated in the last presidential election, in 2014, and who is promising a political comeback.
Local elections take place across Indonesia, including races for 17 governors.