Political rivals have accused him of being a neo-liberal and a ditherer, but Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has emerged as the favourite ahead of today's Indonesian presidential poll. The former general and incumbent is widely tipped to be re-elected in the first round of voting when as many as 176 million Indonesian voters cast their ballots.It has been a campaign largely devoid of penetrating discussion of the many pressing issues facing Indonesia. Even so, there have been moments of colour and drama, including an intriguing claim on Friday by President Yudhoyono that black magic spells had been cast against him and his campaign team.
"Many are practising black magic. Indeed, I and my family can feel it," he was quoted as saying by Antara, the official Indonesian news agency. "It's extraordinary. Many kinds of methods are used. I have come to the conclusion that only prayers can defeat black magic attacks. For instance, last night I kept praying all the way to the venue of the [candidates'] debate along with my wife, aides and driver." The comments caused a stir amid accusations Dr Yudhoyono was being "irrational". However, the belief in supernatural spirits remains deeply entrenched in Indonesia, notwithstanding that most of its population are adherents of Islam.
There has also been an alleged dirty tricks campaign to portray the wife of Dr Yudhoyono's running mate, Boediono, falsely, as a Catholic. It remains unclear whether this so-called black operation was launched by supporters of Dr Yudhoyono and attributed by them to the rival party Golkar, or actually carried out by cadres of Golkar. Either way, Golkar's candidate, Jusuf Kalla, has run an extensive advertising campaign featuring his wife - and the spouse of his running mate, the former general Wiranto - proudly wearing the traditional Islamic headscarf. The wives of Dr Yudhoyono and Mr Boediono do not wear the scarf, known here as the jilbab.
Dr Yudhoyono's other rival, the former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, has run on a populist, nationalist platform of rapid economic expansion and largesse for poor villagers, without actually saying how she would generate the promised 10 per cent GDP growth or pay for the handouts. She and her running mate, Prabowo Subianto (another former general), have regularly labelled Dr Yudhoyono a pro-foreigner "neo-liberal" who has created an "errand boy" economy for Indonesia.
The President, meanwhile, has campaigned on his record of bringing economic stability to Indonesia, crushing terrorism at the same time as attacking the country's endemic culture of corruption. Dr Yudhoyono's imposing lead has, in part, driven many loud complaints from his opponents about deep flaws in the election commission's list of registered voters. But a decision on Monday by the Constitutional Court to allow people to vote if they show a valid identification card has taken the heat out of accusations of a rigged poll.