RE-ELECTION

According to the “quick count” it seems that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yuhoyono has won re-election without the need for a run off election in September.

Niniek Karmini for AP, quoted by The Jakarta Post explained:

An unofficial quick count at 2,000 polling stations – with almost 100 percent of ballots tallied – gave Yudhoyono 60 percent of the vote, which would be enough to avoid a runoff in September. He needs 50 percent of cast ballots to win in one round.

Megawati Sukarnoputri, a former president whose father was the first postcolonial leader of Indonesia, was second at 27 percent, with Vice President Jusuf Kalla at 13 percent.

The preliminary result was based on ballots from all 33 provinces and was conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle, which has accurately forecast previous elections

Opponents of the President argue that they will wait for the results of the official count which will be released by the National Electoral Commission by 27 July. The purported result it is suggested is a result of the experience of economic and political stability, so perhaps Indonesia has not been as susceptible to the Global Financial Crisis as others.

Based on the unofficial results, President Yuhoyono has gained 90% of the vote in Aceh. He seems to be popular in Papua. His opponents in the presidential race were equally national figures.

Indonesia is the third largest democracy in the world along with India and United States. For whatever, reason they have chosen to develop a political system that is unlike those comparable countries, by adopting, for example, the method of holding run-off elections. Polling appears to have been without incident across the country.

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