Thursday, July 23, 2009

Indonesian President Election 2009

The next challenge for Indonesia's president, after winning re-election in a likely landslide, will be assembling a government that is bold enough to take on persistent corruption, poverty and human rights violations seen to be holding back the young democracy.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a 59-year-old retired general and the first directly elected head of state in this predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million, helped Indonesia move beyond an era wracked by secessionist conflicts, Islamist militancy and vast financial uncertainty.

But he faces a tall order in fulfilling campaign vows to take Indonesia's newfound stability to a higher level and deepen democratic reforms.

To boost credibility abroad, Yudhoyono needs to bring together a government team of experts and economic technocrats who put the interests of the country above personal gain, Anies Baswedan, a senior political analyst at Jakarta's Paramadina University, said Thursday.

"I expect him to be bolder in making his appointments," Baswedan said, noting that Yudhoyono has a stronger mandate than during his first five-year term that began in 2004. "He will capitalize on that power."

Yudhoyono's choice for vice president — the former central bank governor Boediono, an economist who previously had few political ties — was widely seen as a positive signal.

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