Indonesians hold biggest one-day election in world

Indonesian citizens went to the polls today to cast votes in Presidential and Parliamentary elections in a process called “the biggest one-day election in the world”.

More than 205 million people in 17,000 Indonesian islands and in three time zones were eligible to vote, choosing the president, vice president and their representatives in the parliament.

Nearly 259,000 candidates are competing for 20,600 positions in the archipelago of 17,000 islands.

This is the fifth round of elections since the beginning of democratic reforms in Southeast Asia’s largest economy since 1998.

In this year’s election, about 52 percent of registered voters were under 40 years old.

Any Indonesian citizen aged 17 or over can vote, but police and military forces are banned from voting, although their families are still allowed to vote.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with a rich cultural heritage and diverse natural resources.

Nearly 90% of Indonesia’s 277 million people are Muslims, making it the largest Muslim country in the world.