Indonesian president poised to win second term in office
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 09, 2009 00:00
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was poised to win his second term in office on the back of recent economic and political stability, according to early returns Wednesday in the country's presidential election. An unofficial quick count of ballots sampled from 2,000 polling stations 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. "The vote count is clearly not finished, although quick counts show the success of our struggle," Yudhoyono said in televised comments from his private residence.
But his opponents raised questions about the accuracy of the preliminary result and said they would wait for their own counts before responding.
Kalla said he was "shocked" by the quick counts but said his own election monitors "are confident that the result is not like that." Secretary-General Pramono Anum of Megawati's leading opposition party, said it was too early to comment because "what is used to determine the winner is not exit polls or quick counts, but official accounting."
An official result is to be released by the National Election Commission by July 27. It was Indonesia's second direct presidential election. Before dictator Suharto was ousted in 1998, Indonesia was under brutal authoritarian rule for three decades, and until recently was wracked by secessionist battles and suicide bombings by al-Qaeda-funded Islamic militants. It suffered towering unemployment after the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.
Today, the predominantly Muslim country of 235 million is enjoying a level of harmony its critics had said was impossible, with its economy growing at 4 percent a year. "We are optimistic our candidate will win in a single round based on recent poll results," Andi Mallarangeng, Yudhoyono's campaign spokesman, said on the eve of the election. People "want the continuation of stability in politics, security and economy."
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. "The vote count is clearly not finished, although quick counts show the success of our struggle," Yudhoyono said in televised comments from his private residence.
But his opponents raised questions about the accuracy of the preliminary result and said they would wait for their own counts before responding.
Kalla said he was "shocked" by the quick counts but said his own election monitors "are confident that the result is not like that." Secretary-General Pramono Anum of Megawati's leading opposition party, said it was too early to comment because "what is used to determine the winner is not exit polls or quick counts, but official accounting."
An official result is to be released by the National Election Commission by July 27. It was Indonesia's second direct presidential election. Before dictator Suharto was ousted in 1998, Indonesia was under brutal authoritarian rule for three decades, and until recently was wracked by secessionist battles and suicide bombings by al-Qaeda-funded Islamic militants. It suffered towering unemployment after the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.
Today, the predominantly Muslim country of 235 million is enjoying a level of harmony its critics had said was impossible, with its economy growing at 4 percent a year. "We are optimistic our candidate will win in a single round based on recent poll results," Andi Mallarangeng, Yudhoyono's campaign spokesman, said on the eve of the election. People "want the continuation of stability in politics, security and economy."