Megawati made no public comments Monday evening but told reporters earlier in the day that she was calm despite recent opinion polls showing her running far behind. "No need to be nervous," she said after voting close to her private residence in southern Jakarta. "We'll see the result. I think that's better than making an early statement."
Her record after three years in office has been mixed. Her administration achieved economic stability, steadying the currency and fueling a surge in local stock prices. But it failed to foster enough growth to provide employment for the millions of new job seekers entering the market.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, 55, is projected to win the election by a comfortable margin.
(Achmad Ibrahim -- AP)
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Ethnic violence ebbed on some Indonesian islands, but she ordered a brutal military offensive against separatists in the westernmost province of Aceh that drew criticism from human rights groups and Western diplomats. Her administration took steps to improve the police and courts, but corruption remains rife.
While investigators have arrested dozens of suspected Muslim radicals during the past two years, radicals linked to al Qaeda showed two weeks ago that they remain a potent threat, killing nine people in a car bombing outside the Australian Embassy.
At a polling station in Jakarta's Benhil neighborhood tucked behind downtown office towers, voters on Monday morning filed beneath a white wedding tent erected in the middle of an intersection to register their preferences. "They want a new leader because Megawati has been in office for a few years without any new achievements," said Agus Surya, 73, a retired photographer. "They want a fresh beginning with hope."
Voters collected ballots from orange-vested election workers, stepped behind metal carrels set out beside vases of plastic flowers, and punched holes with nails through the picture of their preferred candidate. Across the street, loudspeakers blared military marches and patriotic ballads.
"Change is the most important thing," said Teti Garnasi, 33, shaking her left hand to dry the purple ink applied to her pinky to show she had voted. "I feel stagnant today. We haven't had much improvement in society or the economy."
Norhadiyati Hakim, 70, had traveled from her home in the mountains south of Jakarta to her old Benhil neighborhood, where she is still registered. She voted for Yudhoyono, commonly known by his initials SBY. "He is tougher and firmer," said Hakim, wearing a long white tunic and blue head scarf. "Until now, our government hasn't done much about corruption. I hope SBY can do something."
