JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia cast an emphatic vote for change in a landmark poll which saw incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri headed for defeat at the hands of a former general who has promised better security and economic reform.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was predicted to win 61.2 percent of the votes against 38.8 percent for Megawati, according to credible surveys released just hours after ballots closed but days ahead of full official results.
The vote was the first direct presidential election in the world`s largest Muslim-populated country and a milestone in its sometimes violent transition to democracy since the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998.
Security was tight for the poll which came 11 days after a suicide bomber killed nine people outside the Australian embassy -- Indonesia`s third major Islamic extremist attack in two years.
But the last of three elections this year in the archipelago of 18,000 islands seemed to pass without trouble, another step forward for a country that has often witnessed turbulent transfers of power.
Even as Yudhoyono took an early lead in the vote counting, Indonesian thinktank LP3ES, a partner of the respected US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), forecast him a 61.2 percent landslide.
"Quick count" samples of nationwide balloting produced by the NDI in cooperation with local groups have proved extremely precise in the two earlier elections this year.
A full official count will take weeks as polls from more than 150 million eligible voters are tallied across far-flung islands, but with one fifth of votes counted Yudhoyono had 59.6 percent against 40.3 for Megawati.
Yudhoyono, 55, who has consistently scored nearly double the support for Megawati in opinion polls taken since a July 5 first-round saw him emerge as frontrunner, welcomed the early results but stopped short of declaring victory.
"We are very happy to learn that the quick counts by credible institutions show that I can reap a promising result," he said, praising his rival`s efforts in promoting democracy and calling for political opponents to work with him.
With little to distinguish the candidates` broad policies on economic reform, tackling corruption and improving security, the presidential race was seen as a personality contest favouring the telegenic ex-army officer.
Megawati -- despite being a daughter of charismatic founding president Sukarno -- has struggled to shake off a reputation as an aloof and uncaring leader and lost support among the country`s impoverished "little people".
Voting near her private residence in south Jakarta, a typically reticent Megawati arrived several hours after balloting began. Scores of people who turned out to see her were kept waiting.
Asked if she was confident of victory, Megawati only told AFP: "Yes".
Analysts say Yudhoyono`s pedigree as an ex-military man, who led operations to capture Islamic extremists blamed for the October 2002 Bali bombings and an August 2003 strike on Jakarta`s Marriott hotel, may have helped his prospects.
One of the first to vote, Wayan Surapha on the resort island of Bali said he was backing Megawati. "Mega has been good at recovering our economy. She deserves to be the next president."
Another voter, computer businessman Mahyudin, 30, said he had picked Yudhoyono in what he called a vote for reform.
"It`s not that I`m not satisfied (with Megawati) but she has deficiencies," he said after voting in Kebagusan, near Megawati`s private Jakarta residence.
Among voters turning out was a frail Suharto, who visited a polling station in a Jakarta suburb supported by a walking cane and family members.
Suharto, 83, who has escaped trial for graft because of ill health, has lived quietly at home since stepping down in May 1998 amid a crippling economic crisis and massive civil unrest.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard hailed Monday`s election as a triumph for Indonesia`s emergence as a democratic nation.