Indonesia opposition tops legislative polls

JAKARTA, Apr 9 (Agencies):  Indonesia's main opposition party won the most votes in legislative elections Wednesday, unofficial tallies showed, boosting the chances of their presidential candidate, the Jakarta governor, becoming the country's next leader.

A tally, known as a "quick count", by think-tank CSIS put the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on 19 per cent, while another by pollster Indonesia Survey Circle gave the party almost 20 per cent.

The party has not placed first in an election since 1999, when Indonesia held its first free and fair polls in more than 40 years. The party's declared presidential candidate is Joko Widodo, the popular governor of Jakarta, who is leading in national polls and has promised a "more people-centric" style of governance in a country that, while a member of the Group of 20 major economies, still has more than 100 million people living on $2 a day or less.

Under Indonesia's complex presidential nominating system, a party must win 20 per cent of the 560-seat national House of Representatives, or 25 per cent of the popular vote, to nominate a presidential candidate, or it may form a coalition with other parties to reach either threshold.

While final official results could ultimately push the Indonesian Democratic party past the 20 per cent threshold on its own, analysts said the party would regardless try to form a coalition that controls 51 per cent of the House to contest the July presidential election.