Indonesia started its historic presidential runoff at 7:00 (0000GMT) Monday in all 32 provinces across the country.

Opinion polls showing a former general who has pledged to end rampant graft, fix the economy and fight terrorism set for a comfortable win over President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The election between Ms Megawati and Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the first in which Indonesia's voters will choose their leader directly, and caps a turbulent transition to democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation since the downfall of former dictator Suharto in 1998.

More than 140,000 police officers were deployed across the country amid warnings that the Al-Qaeda linked militants blamed for a deadly Sept 9 suicide bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta are planning more attacks.

Voting began shortly after 7am (2200 GMT on Sunday) in Papua, the far east of this sprawling country that crosses three times zones, and will close in the west at 1 pm (0600 GMT).

'The atmosphere is good,' Papuan election official Hasyim Sangaji said by phone from the distant province. 'People are starting to vote.'

Results from exit polls should be available late on Monday or on Tuesday morning, but the official tally will not be announced for two weeks.

Mr Bambang, who served as Ms Megawati's security minister before resigning in March to contest the elections, was leading by around 20 per cent in opinion polls going into the elections.

He won the first round of the polls in July but without an overall majority, requiring Monday's run-off vote for the five-year term.

The election season has so far gone off without violence, and analysts say a peaceful political transition in Indonesia will be further evidence that democracy and Islam are compatible.

Source: Agencies