Jakarta, 14 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Millions of Indonesian voters were set to cast their ballots on Wednesday in a crucial election that will decide the South-East Asian nation's next president, vice president and legislators.

Around 205 million people in the world's fourth most populous country are being called on to cast their ballots at over 820,000 polling stations across the country.

In Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, where violence linked to a separatist insurgency has been on the rise in recent years, voting began at 7 am local time (2200 GMT) amid tight security.

Heavy rain meanwhile dampened voter turnout in some parts of Jakarta, with some areas flooded.

Former general Prabowo Subianto is considered to be the overwhelming favourite to succeed the popular President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, who is not allowed to run again after two terms in office.

According to polls, the 72-year-old could even receive more than 50% of the vote and would therefore not even have to go to a run-off against one of his two competitors. The run-off vote would be held in June.

The former general, the current defence minister, is running against Ganjar Pranowo, the former governor of Central Java, and Anies Baswedan, the former governor of Jakarta and a former education minister. 

The polls were scheduled to close at 1 pm, and the official results were expected to be announced by the end of March.

Prabowo has nominated Jokowi's eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, who is also very popular, as vice-president. However, critics accuse the incumbent president of wanting to build a political family dynasty.

Prabowo has promised to boost the country's defence and security, revive the economy and protect the sovereignty. He is especially popular among young voters - who make up around half of the electorate - thanks to a clever social media campaign.

He built a large fan base with clips and photos of his cat Bobby Kertanegara, who has his own Instagram account, and has presented himself as a friendly grandpa, who sways awkwardly to Indonesian rhythms in TikTok videos.

The leader of the Great Indonesia Movement Party has been accused of human rights violations, including over the kidnappings and disappearances of pro-democracy activists in the dying days of the Suharto regime in 1998. He has denied the allegations.

Ganjar, who is backed by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), pledged to continue the president's legacy of infrastructure development and social welfare.

Anies, appealing to young and educated voters, has vowed to uphold diversity and democracy, which he said had declined under Widodo.

On Wednesday he said that he was ready to work for the next five years to create a better Indonesia.

"Thank you for fighting together and thank you to those who demand change. Let's carry this change for a better Indonesia," Baswedan, a critic of Widodo's government, told Metro TV before casting his ballot.

The election in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation and a G20 member state, is also internationally significant in times of global crises such as the Russian war in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

With its 274 million inhabitants, the archipelago is the third largest democracy in the world.

The election is the world's largest and most complicated single-day polls, involving about 245,000 candidates running for more than 20,000 national and local legislative seats across the country.

The event is also the world's largest direct presidential election, as the US uses an electoral college system.

Photo: EPA