Bambang heading for big victory in Indonesia

Former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono looks set to become Indonesia's first popularly elected president.

He was making strong gains in early vote counts last night, after millions of Indonesians cast their ballots in the final round of the country's first direct election for president.

Official tallies by the General Election Commission showed him leading with 59.2 per cent of the vote against 40.7 for the incumbent, Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The results that continued to trickle in through the night were based on about a quarter of the estimated turnout. In all, 153 million Indonesians were eligible to vote.

Quick counts carried out by at least two independent polling agencies also showed Mr Bambang with a commanding lead. The United States-based National Democratic Institute had him winning 61 per cent of the vote against 39 per cent for Ms Megawati. The Jakarta-based think-tank LP3ES' forecast: 61.2 per cent for Mr Bambang, 38 per cent for his rival.

Political observer Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia told The Straits Times: 'These initial figures are likely to reflect the final outcome, as they did in the first round of the presidential election. If the trend shows a steady vote for SBY every hour or so, then it could be dangerous for Megawati.'

If these trends hold up over the next few days, it would reflect a big win for Mr Bambang, by a wider margin than some had anticipated. This could bolster his hand in dealing with a legislature that will be dominated by Ms Megawati's party and its allies.

In the first round in July, Mr Bambang emerged the winner in a wider field of candidates, but failed to gain over half the vote, which triggered the run-off with his closest rival, Ms Megawati.

Source: Agencies