JOHN STANMEYER-VII FOR TIME

SONG AND DANCE: Wiranto woos voters by crooning catchy tunes

People's Power
	Indonesians finally get to directly elect their own President and take their nation another step closer to full democracy
	By Simon Elegant | Pontianak

Posted Monday, June 21, 2004; 20:00 HKT
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is beginning to sweat. It's midmorning in Pontianak, a town that sits astride the equator on the west coast of the island of Borneo. The damp heat is particularly oppressive in the airless indoor market where the front runner in Indonesia's coming presidential election is making a campaign appearance. But Yudhoyono, a 54-year-old ex-general who is often referred to by his initials S.B.Y., soldiers on, flashing his trademark avuncular smile as he stops to chat at stalls selling vegetables, chicken and fish. He listens patiently to gripes by shoppers about high food prices and by vendors about poor sales. Finally, he climbs atop a crate and, with a wipe of his brow, launches into his stump speech. If he's President, vows Yudhoyono, he'll bring stability, security, justice and prosperity. And he won't forget the masses, either, he pledges. There are few specifics, and Yudhoyono's delivery is more akin to that of a businessman at a luncheon than a populist politician pressing the flesh.

But the crowd—hungry to believe—listens closely and punctuates his words with repeated shouts of approval. Fruit seller Suparni says that unlike incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri, who also visited Pontianak, Yudhoyono "cares for the little people. When [Megawati] came she only waved her hand from her car, and the window wasn't even open!"

"Little people" like Suparni can now make or break Indonesia's presidency. For the first time, Indonesians will be directly electing their leader, previously chosen by the country's legislature through backroom wheeling and dealing. In fact, the vote for President is part of an affirmation of the country's fledgling democracy. First were the polls in April to select federal, provincial and district assemblies. Billed at the time as the world's biggest one-day electoral exercise, they featured some 165,000 candidates and nearly 135 million voters. On July 5 is the presidential ballot, involving five teams of presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Should none win a majority—which is likely—the top two will contest a runoff in September.

	I respect democracy and I respect human rights. But leadership also matters, and I can deliver on that too. —SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO,  presidential front runner

The culmination of this long, deliberate exercise in democracy will mark a critical turning point for Indonesia. Since enduring the turmoil of Asia's financial crisis in 1997 and the bloody ouster of longtime dictator Suharto a year later, Indonesia has been inching its way toward establishing a fully democratic system of government. While there's still a long way to go—corralling the brooding power of the military and other special-interest groups remains a formidable challenge—the installation of a directly elected President bearing a mandate from the country's 238 million citizens represents a huge step forward along that journey. As the world's most populous Muslim state, a stable and peaceful Indonesia would serve as an iconic symbol for the Islamic world. The nation's fate is also being anxiously watched by other Southeast Asian governments, all of which are fully aware of the grave consequences for the region should their gigantic neighbor slip into economic and political chaos. "It's a chance to finally turn the page on the Suharto years," says Hans Vriens, managing director of Jakarta-based consulting firm APCO Indonesia. "A lot depends on who is elected, of course, but it should allow Indonesians to start looking to the future instead of over their shoulders."

Yudhoyono looks certain to be in the September runoff, should it take place. Opinion polls show him leading his rivals by 20 to 30 percentage points. After him, the picture is confused. Megawati and Wiranto, a former armed-forces chief, are running neck and neck, both consistently scoring in the low teens. Another candidate, the Islamist upper-house Speaker Amien Rais, receives nearly 20% in some surveys, in the single digits in other polls. For now, the smart money is on Wiranto joining Yudhoyono in the runoff. That would produce a battle of the generals, unsurprising in a country whose daunting challenges—a becalmed economy, rampant corruption, Islamic militancy and separatist tensions—are persuading many voters to plump for someone confident and decisive. Those are qualities the aloof and unadventurous Megawati is widely perceived to lack. Analysts and diplomats in Jakarta say that Megawati's term in office has been largely reactive, with virtually no attempts to tackle widespread corruption, the plunge in foreign investment, a soaring unemployment rate and a host of other serious problems. "People feel they've given Megawati a chance, but she has failed," says respected pollster Denny J.A. of the Indonesian Survey Institute.

The public mood has most benefited Yudhoyono, who was Megawati's chief security minister until he resigned in March after a public spat over access to the President. With his ability to connect with voters, and untainted so far by any accusations of human-rights violations during his military career, Yudhoyono has positioned himself as someone who is strong, but not a strongman. "I respect democracy and I respect human rights," Yudhoyono stressed to TIME last week. "But leadership also matters, and I can deliver on that too." For many Indonesians, Yudhoyono demonstrated that leadership during his tenure as security minister, when he was instrumental in bringing peace to two seemingly intractable areas of conflict between Muslims and Christians—Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands—where thousands had been killed. He also showed a tougher side, sending in the army to attempt a military solution in the restive province of Aceh, and acting as point man in the country's sometimes ambivalent crackdown on homegrown Islamic terrorists.

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