Yudhoyono widens lead over Megawati

Former Indonesian general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who vows firm leadership to fight terror and boost the economy, built up a convincing early lead over incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday in the country's first direct presidential election.

Yudhoyono, Megawati's one-time chief security minister, had won 59 per cent of 6.6 million votes counted as of 1000 GMT, the election commission said. Megawati had 41 per cent.

About 151 million people were registered to vote in the world's fourth most populous country. In a first-round election among five candidates in July, initial returns proved a fairly accurate indication of the final outcome.

Separately, a coalition of independent survey groups said Yudhoyono would win 62 per cent of the vote, with Megawati getting 38 per cent. Its prediction was based on a sample of votes from 2,000 polling stations across the country.

"It's a good indicator but too early to presume victory," said Yudhoyono's running mate, Jusuf Kalla.

"We need to see the end result and I think the indication we have found is clearly good."

Most observers thought turnout was good but official estimates were not immediately available.

The run-off between Yudhoyono and Megawati caps a turbulent and bloody six years since longtime strongman Suharto stepped down in 1998.

"I'm quite confident and I have the reason to believe that I could win," Yudhoyono told reporters at his home on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta before the polls closed.

Asked about forecasts Yudhoyono who consistently led opinion polls before the vote would finish well ahead, Megawati told reporters: "No need to be nervous. We'll see the result. I think that's better than making an early statement."

The election came 11 days after militants believed to be from the Al Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiah killed nine people and wounded 182 with a car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the third major attack in two years.

Tens of thousands of police are on high alert across the vast archipelago after officials warned of more attacks. There were numerous bomb hoaxes and rumours of more car bombings ahead of the vote.

In the event, voting was reported calm and without any major incidents. The atmosphere at many polling stations was festive.

"I'm in Jakarta, probably visited about 12 or 15 polling stations today. There are absolutely no problems or no reports of any difficulty here," said Glyn Ford, chief of a European Union observer mission.

Indonesia sprawls across three time zones and the first voters to cast their ballots were in the east. The last were in Jakarta and in the west, where polling booths closed at 1.00 p.m. (0600 GMT).

Despite the running count of results issued by the election commission, the final result will only be declared officially on Oct. 5.

"The initial counting usually indicates the final result. Thus, if the trend shows a steady vote for SBY every half an hour or so, then it could be dangerous for Megawati," said Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from University of Indonesia, using Yuhoyono's nickname.

Most opinion surveys had shown Megawati, who took office in 2001 after her predecessor was sacked by Parliament, trailing between 19 and 32 points behind Yudhoyono.

Yudhoyono, 55, won the first round of the election on July 5, but failed to win an outright majority against Megawati, 57, and three other candidates, forcing the run-off. "The important thing is whoever becomes president must show concern for the people," said John Sinania, 39, a government employee in the eastern city of Ambon who was among the first to cast his vote.

A laundrywoman in Jakarta said Yudhoyono got her vote. "I want a change. Mega (Megawati) has had her time already. I want to change for SBY (Yudhoyono)," she said.

Whoever wins faces the task of catching militants before they strike again.