World’s biggest single-day election
THE nation’s authorities were making final preparations ahead of today’s election, with around 25,000 police set to ensure security in a contest seen as a test of democratic gains made since the end of authoritarian rule 25 years ago.

Outgoing President Joko Widodo has presided over steady growth and relative stability in the past decade in the mineral-rich Group of 20 economy of 270 million people, establishing it as a future base for multinationals in the electric vehicle supply chain.

Still, Jokowi, has in the run-up to the Feb 14 presidential election faced criticism over his perceived political meddling and push to establish a political dynasty.

He has not explicitly endorsed any of the three presidential candidates but has made highly publicised appearances with controversial former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, and his eldest son is running on the same ticket for vice president.

Two opinion surveys last week projected Defence Minister Prabowo, who is making his third run to be president, could secure more than 50% of the votes today, allowing him to win in a single round.

Rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo were seen at least 27 and 31 points behind him respectively.

Keep calm and carry on: Municipality workers bring ballot boxes during distribution to polling stations ahead of the presidential election in Jakarta, while (below) electoral workers use horses to carry ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia to polling stations in remote villages in Andongrejo, East Java. — Reuters/AP

Indonesia has entered a cooling-off period until voting day, with candidates barred from campaigning.

Running an election is a gargantuan task in Indonesia. The archipelago of more than 17,000 islands stretches across three times zones and a distance similar to across the United States.

Election officials have delivered ballot boxes and papers to far-flung regions, in some cases travelling hours by boat, helicopter or ox- and horse-drawn carts.

The weather agency has warned about the risk of extreme weather in West Java on polling day, media reported.

The election commission meanwhile has postponed voting in 10 villages in the Karanganyar district in Central Java due to flooding.

Jokowi’s tacit backing of Prabowo has led to accusations he has flouted election rules, which he rejects.

In Indonesia, sitting presidents can campaign for candidates providing they do not use state resources and must take official leave to do so. Incumbents have typically been neutral.

The presidential office has denied political meddling by Jokowi.

Hundreds of students held noisy street protests on Monday to protest against what they see as democratic backsliding under Jokowi, a former furniture salesman who seemed to offer a clean break from the military and political elite.

In 1998, huge student protests fuelled unrest that led to the fall of former strongman leader Suharto and helped usher in democracy.

Meanwhile, a documentary claiming Jokowi used state resources to try to swing this week’s presidential election in favour of his defence minister has gone viral, amassing millions of views in a day.

Tens of thousands of candidates across the world’s largest archipelago nation are battling for some 20,000 national, provincial and district parliamentary positions.

About 10,000 candidates from 18 political parties are contesting for spots in the 580-seat national parliament alone.

Political parties are required to have a woman in at least every third position in their party list, and parties need at least 4% of votes across the country to qualify for representation in the national parliament. — Agencies
Indonesia
THE nation’s authorities were making final preparations ahead of today’s election, with around 25,000 police set to ensure security in a contest seen as a test of democratic gains made since the end of authoritarian rule 25 years ago.