SBY IS THE WINNER ACCORDING TO QUICK COUNT

By Andi Abdussalam


        Jakarta, July 8 (ANTARA) - Incumbent President Susilo Bambgang Yudhoyono (SBY) who pairs with Boediono in the 2009 presidential election is almost certain to win Wednesday's presidential poll based on the results of a quick count by a survey institute.

        "The votes counted have reached 87.57 percent, meaning the election returns have stabilized. So, it can be said that the SBY-Boediono pair is the winner," executive director of the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) Kuskrido Ambardi said referring to the results of the quick count conducted by LSI hours after vote counting at polling station level began on Wednesday.

        Kuskrido Ambardi said SLI's data entries at 2.17 pm on Wednesday indicated that the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - Boediono (SBY-Boediono) ticket was victorious almost in all provinces in the country except in South Sulawesi, Bali and Gorontalo.

        "Of the 87.57 percent of votes counted by LSI, the SBY-Boediono duo led the race with 60.58 percent while Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo Subianto (Mega-Pro) and Jusuf Kalla - Wiranto (JK-WIN) pairs trailing behind in the second and third positions with 26.30 percent and 13.12 percent of the vote respectively," he said.

        Therefore, he said, he was optimistic the 2009 presidential election would run in just one round.

        He said the SBY-Boediono pair fulfilled the two conditions set by the election law that a presidential pair would win the election in one round if it won a vote of 50 + 1 percent or won 20 percent of the votes in at least 17 provinces. The two conditions are already met by the SBY-Boediono pair.

        "The SBY-Boediono has won in all, except three, of the country's 33 provinces. This means that the pair has won in more than 17 provinces," the SLI executive director said.

        Ambardi said the SBY-Boediono ticket's victory showed that religious and racist issues had little affect on voters' choice. He referred to attacks on Boediono's wife who was accused of being a Catholic.

        "If the votes counted have reached 76 percent, the election returns will already have stabilized. So, it can be said that the SBY-Boediono pair is the winner," Ambardi said.

        In response to the results of the quick count, presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla said he appreciated the quick count results showing the lead of the SBY-Boediono duo.

        "We appreciate the results of the quick count, yet we still need to wait for the ballot count and official announcement of the General Election Commission (KPU)," Jusuf Kalla (JK) said when asked to comment on the results of a quick count.

        Kalla said his side would appreciate whoever won Wednesday's election. "We appreciate the reports. After all, there has been no significant disturbance during the election ," he added.

        He said he was surprised that the quick count had put his ticket with Wiranto in third place. "Frankly, we are surprised, because the reports we received from the regions showed we won greater numbers of votes ," he said.

        Referring to the results of the quick count, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked all parties to patiently wait for the ballot count and official announcement by the General Election Commission (KPU).

        Although the electoral quick count indicated that Yudhoyono and his running mate Boediono were temporarily leading with 60 percent of the votes, the incumbent president said all parties had to be patient because the ballot count was not yet finished.

        "Although the survey institutes have announced the results of the election, the ballot count is still underway so let us wait for the KPU as authoritative institution to officially announce the final result," Yudhoyono said at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor.

        "Since the ballot count is still underway, let us keep and maintain the peaceful situation in the country. If there is complaint or protest, please convey it through the procedure and mechanism that have been regulated in the law," Yudhoyono said.

        He also expressed sincere gratitude to all parties who had struggled for the success of the election, and to the newsmen who had made all-out efforts to cover all the processes of the election.

        "Many thanks to the newsmen who have covered all activities related to the election, not only for me but for Ibu Megawati Soekarnoputri and Bapa Jusuf Kalla as well," Yudhoyono said.

        "Let us keep and maintain our culture of mutual respect, because to win or to lose we have to admit it because the most important thing for us is that the future of Indonesia over the next five year will be better," he added.

        Some 176,367,056 eligible voters including 1,133,738 Indonesians overseas were expected to have voted for their presidential candidates in the country's second direct presidential election on Wednesday.

        Three presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs are competing in the election, namely former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate retired general Prabowo Subianto, incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono, and incumbent vice president M Jusuf Kalla and retired general Wiranto.

        According to National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso, despite minor disturbances, the presidential election ran peacefully and smoothly in all parts of the country.

        "Although there were minor disturbances, the election in Indonesia in general ran peacefully and smoothly," he said.***1*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/19:05/A014)

        (T.A014/A/A014/A/A014) 08-07-2009 20:25:27