Indonesia's main opposition party won the most votes in parliamentary elections Wednesday, unofficial tallies showed, setting its popular presidential candidate, Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, on course to become the country's next leader. However the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) backing of around 20 percent was lower than expected, meaning the governor - a fresh face in a country dominated by figures from the autocratic Suharto era - may face a tougher than expected path to the presidency.
The 52-year-old former furniture business owner struck an update tone nevertheless, telling reporters: "Thank God, the people have put their trust in the PDI-P." Support for President Susilo Bambang's party fell by about half after a string of corruption scandals, but backing for Islamic parties in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country jumped - a surprise after polls predicted heavy falls.
Millions of voters earlier flocked to polling stations across the sprawling archipelago that spreads across three time zones, from mountainous Papua in the east to the crowded main island of Java to the jungles of Sumatra in the west. Some 186 million people were eligible to vote for around 230,000 candidates competing for about 20,000 seats in national and regional legislatures, although the most important vote was for the lower house of the national parliament. Wednesday's polls determine who can run in presidential elections in July and all eyes were on frontrunner Widodo and the PDI-P, which has long been tipped to win the biggest share of the vote on the back of the governor's popularity.
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