Indonesian President Reelected: Exit Polls

For many, Yudhoyono’s win is mainly due to his successes politically and economically and his charismatic personality.

"This is a victory of people and democracy," Anas Urbaningrum, deputy chairman of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party (DA), told IslamOnline.net.

As the vote counting went underway, five respected exit polls showed Yudhoyono, known by his SBY initials, comfortably winning re-election and a new five-year term with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, the leader of the Democratic Party of Struggle, came second with 26.49 percent, according to the polls.

Incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the chairman of the Golkar party, trails third with only 12.62 percent of the vote.

With such clear majority, Yudhoyono was comfortably above the halfway mark needed to avoid a run-off with his nearest rival in September.

The Indonesian Election Commission (KPU) is expected to announce the official results between July 27 and July 29.

The president and his vice president are to be sworn on October 20.

If confirmed, SBY will be the first president to serve consecutive terms in Indonesia’s "Reformasi" era that began with the fall of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998.

"The most important thing is the election went smoothly, safe and democratic," asserted Urbaningrum, the DA leader.

Some 170 million voters in Indonesian, the world's most populous Muslim nation, were eligible to cast their ballots in Indonesia's second direct vote for a president.

Indonesia is often described as the world's third largest democracy after India and the United States.

Popular General

Despite the exit polls, Yudhoyono did not claim victory and urged calm and respect for democratic processes.

"The vote count hasn't finished yet…but the poll surveys in their quick counts show the success of my comrades," the quietly spoken ex-general said.

"But for the results, let's wait for the (electoral commission) to do the count accurately."

Yudhoyono urged his rivals to resolve any objections peacefully.

"Let's work together to maintain a peaceful situation in this country. If there are objections or protests, please do it through mechanisms and procedures in line with our law."

Yudhoyono’s win is linked to his successes politically and economically over the past five years and his charismatic personality.

Born in 1949 to a lower-middle class family in the country's dominant Javanese ethnic group, he graduated from the Armed Forces Academy in 1973.

He held high-ranking military posts until 1999 when he made his political debut being appointed in the cabinet of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

In 2001, Yudhoyono, then Minister for Politic and Security Affairs, was dismissed for refusing Wahid's order to declare a state of emergency.

Later that year, Yudhoyono was re-appointed to his old position by new president Megawati.

He formed the Democratic Party with his supporters to contest the 2004 Presidential elections, which he won in a landslide.

Defeating then incumbent Megawati, Yudhoyono became the first directly elected head of state, and took the reins of a country weighed down by poverty and separatism calls.

His problems were soon compounded by the tsunami, which killed more than 168,000 people in Aceh and Nias.

But adding more to his popularity, Yudhoyono’s reconstruction drive in Aceh has been hailed a success.

He also managed to bring peace to the province after a 2005 peace deal with the separatists.

Apart from politics, Yudhoyono is known with his love of music and has released a number of albums of his own love songs.