And the winner is

And the winner is

Indonesia's transformation to democracy in a few short years
has been described as nothing short of amazing.

Fears after the secession of East Timor in 2002 that the vast
archipelago of the world's fourth most populous nation would fall
apart under the pressures and promises of the ballot box have
proved unfounded. The conduct of its first direct presidential
poll, whose first-round counting was completed on Monday, has
been remarkably peaceful, notwithstanding the odd bomb blast or
two.

The reformasi protests that unseated the Soeharto regime in
1998 did not provide the boilerplate for national elections this
year. On the contrary, campaigning was more razzmatazz than
rabble-rousing. Unlike other claimants to the democratic crown in
Southeast Asia, the presidential contenders were polite to a
fault. There were grumbles of vote fraud, but none serious enough
to rock the electoral boat.

Like the region's other exuberant democracies, however,
critics like to point out that Indonesia's politics continues to
elevate personality over policy. The two leading candidates who
will face a run-off election in September, Lt. Gen. (ret) Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono and President Megawati Soekarnoputri, fought on
popular appeal rather than program manifestoes.

Even so, charisma has probably reached its limits. In what is
expected to be a close race, Megawati's better organized
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will have the
advantage over Susilo's fledgling Democratic Party. The influence
of Golkar, the country's largest party whose candidate General
Wiranto was knocked out in the first round, is likely to be
decisive. Whatever the outcome, a direct mandate will strengthen
the new president's hand in enacting much-needed reforms. And
whoever emerges victorious, the real winners of the country's
complex set of elections in 2004 will at long last be the
Indonesian people.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur