Brazilians to vote today

JAKARTA (JP): All Brazilian citizens living in Indonesia are reminded to cast their votes in their homeland's general election on Sunday at the Brazilian Embassy in South Jakarta.

It is to be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the embassy in Mulia Towers, Jl. Gatot Subroto. Voting is an obligation for all Brazilians aged 18 and over.

"The vote in Brazil is obligatory by law. All citizens must vote," said Jose Joacir dos Santos, the embassy's cultural attache. About 100 people are expected to vote here.

Of the 10 presidential candidates from 34 freely organized political parties, three front-runners are Fernando Henrique Cardoso of the Social Democracy Party, Inacio Lula da Silva of the Labor Party and Ciro Gomes of the coalition.

Fifty-three percent of voters in Brazil, which has a population of 200 million, will vote by computer and the rest will do it manually. (ylt)