Sawt Falasteen - Indonesians vote in regional election seen as test for Prabowo

More than 200 million people were eligible to vote to choose dozens of governors and mayors, and 415 regents, with some candidates linked to ex-leader Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, vying for coveted positions seen as paths to higher office.

The race to become Jakarta governor was the main focus, with political parties viewing the position as a stepping stone to the presidency. Jokowi successfully won a presidential election after serving as the capital's governor for two years.

Polls were open from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm across the vast archipelago nation's three timezones, and voting was largely smooth in Jakarta, where some organisers set up makeshift booths at schools and by the roadside.

On Wednesday evening, independent pollsters such as Indikator Politik Indonesia, Charta Politika, and Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI), placed Pramono ahead of his rivals, garnering between 49 and 50 percent of votes.

The "quick counts" by independent pollsters have been used in previous elections by candidates to claim victory.

Lies Hartono, who heads Pramono and his running mate Rano Karno's campaign team, cited multiple polls putting the duo above the 50 percent needed to avoid a second-round runoff.

"Based on those results, we can declare that the Jakarta election took place in one round," he said in a press conference broadcast by Kompas TV.

Official results are expected to be announced by December 15 at the latest, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU) regulation.

- Flood, traffic in focus -

Grocery seller Reni Apriani, 54, said she wanted the next Jakarta governor to focus their attention on tackling the issues plaguing the megalopolis, including flooding.

"The government should be able to anticipate so that flooding will not happen," she told AFP, adding that she hoped the new leaders will also be able to provide jobs for unemployed youths.

Muhammad Arif, 49, said he hoped the new governor would tackle congestion, a long-running issue in the city where traffic often come to a halt in peak hours.

"I live on the road, always use motorcycle transportation. So the traffic is very disturbing, it's like I become older on the road," the property agent told AFP.

Made Supriatma, a political researcher and a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said the election was "very significant" for Prabowo's government.

"He needs to have his people at the regional level to ensure his government runs efficiently," Made said.

- Regional influence -

Running against Pramono are the former governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil, who has the backing of the largest party coalition -- and Jokowi's endorsement.

"For Jokowi, this regional election will determine his political influence in the future, if the candidates he endorses lose in Central Java and Jakarta, his influence will diminish," Made said.

Firman Noor, a political researcher of the government-funded National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said candidates aligned with Prabowo will be more responsive to carry out the president's programme.

Prabowo easily won February's presidential election, helped by the support of his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka -- Jokowi's son.

Jokowi's son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, is running in North Sumatra's gubernatorial election and surveys are tipping the 33-year-old to win.

In North Sumatra, floods caused by intense rains in several districts and cities, including provincial capital Medan, caused voting in some polling stations to be postponed to a later date, KPU commissioner Yulianto Sudrajat told AFP.

The only province in Indonesia that did not participate in the local elections was Yogyakarta, as the country's cultural capital is led by a sultan who also acts as the governor.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST