INDONESIA: COUNTRY PREPARES FOR HISTORIC POLLS ONE DAY AHEAD OF FIRST EVER DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Record ID: 647577

  • Title: INDONESIA: COUNTRY PREPARES FOR HISTORIC POLLS ONE DAY AHEAD OF FIRST EVER DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
  • Date: 4th July 2004
  • Summary: (W3) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JULY 4, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. SLV EXTERIOR OF SETIABUDI SUB-DISTRICT OFFICE; MV ELECTION OFFICIALS INSIDE OFFICE, LOOKING AT PAPERS ON TABLE 0.17 2. ELECTION OFFICIALS TRANSPORTING BALLOT BOX TO POLLING STATION; BALLOT BOXES BOARDED ONTO PICK-UP TRUCK; TRACKING SHOT OF TRUCK GOING TO POLLING STATION (9 SHOTS) 1.17 3. MV MORE OF OFFICIALS CARRYING BALLOT BOX TO POLLING STATION (3 SHOTS) 1.39 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JAKARTA,INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVADJTJU1WTK0ZQXASAJRS7DP1HL
  • Story Text: Indonesians prepare for historic polls one day ahead
    of the country's first-ever direct presidential election.

    Ballot boxes were on their way to polling stations
    across Indonesia on Sunday (July 4, 2004), just a day ahead of
    the country's first-ever direct presidential election.

    Locked and sealed, the ballot boxes were transported
    from sub-district offices to polling stations located in
    various neighbourhoods.

    More than 150 million people will vote on Monday (July
    5), electing their president for the first time. In the
    past, a legislative body chose the country's leaders.

    Monday's election follows a messy transition to
    democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation since
    strongman Suharto quit in 1998, a six-year period marred by
    political chaos,
    economic crisis and bomb attacks by Islamic militants.

    Opinion polls show Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a
    respected former general, winning 40-45 percent of the
    vote, way ahead of incumbent President Megawati
    Sukarnoputri and other rivals,
    ex-military chief Wiranto and Muslim leader Amien Rais. A
    fifth candidate has polled almost no support.

    Indonesia's election commission has predicted a result
    could be known within 10 days. A group of non-governmental
    bodies, however, will release projections within 24 hours of
    Monday's vote. Their early tally of April parliamentary
    polls proved quite accurate.

    The election follows a messy transition to democracy in
    the world's most populous Muslim nation since strongman
    Suharto quit in 1998, a six-year period marred by political
    chaos, economic crisis and bomb attacks by Islamic
    militants linked to al Qaeda.

    In a broadcast on Sunday, incumbent President Megawati
    Sukarnoputri urged all candidates and their supporters to
    ensure the election and vote count were peaceful.

    Megawati herself is one of the five presidential
    candidates, but despite achieving a measure of stability
    she has been criticised for not helping accelerate economic
    growth fast enough and fighting corruption vigorously
    enough.

    Many Indonesians hope opinion poll front-runner
    ex-general Yudhoyono will put their unwieldy resource-rich
    country on a firmer footing, create the jobs they crave and
    stamp out the pervasive graft they despise.

    More than 150 million people will be eligible to vote
    across Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands
    and 220 million people, making it the world's fourth most
    populous nation. In the past, a legislative body chose
    leaders.

    The election campaign ended on Thursday, and police are
    on high alert.

    Most opinion polls show Yudhoyono winning 40-45 percent
    of the vote, way ahead of Megawati, ex-military chief Wiranto and
    Muslim leader Amien Rais. The fifth candidate,
    incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz, has polled almost no
    support.

    In a new poll released on Friday, the Indonesia Survey
    Institute said it was unlikely Yudhoyono would win an
    outright majority on Monday. It predicted Megawati would
    come second, with both going head-to-head in the September
    run-off.

    However, most other polls have shown Megawati, Wiranto
    and Rais in a virtual dead heat for second.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register