BBC Online :
Indonesians have cast their ballots to elect representatives in national and local parliaments.
Some 19,000 seats are being contested across the nation, including the 560 seats in the national parliament.
The polls will determine which parties can field candidates for the presidential election on 9 July.
The opposition Democratic Party of Struggle is expected to do well. Its candidate, Joko Widodo, is seen by many as Indonesia’s next president.
Widodo, the Jakarta governor who is popularly known as Jokowi, has proven to be a hit with voters because of an approachable and down-to-earth image.
He told reporters at a polling station in Jakarta he believed his party would perform strongly. “I’m very confident that my party will do very well,” he said.
Some 235,000 candidates will compete for more than 19,000 seats in national and local parliaments.
The vast majority of the 187 million Indonesians registered to vote will never have heard of most of the names on the ballots until they get to polling booths. That, and the general distrust and disappointment toward the past and current parliaments, will make voter turnout lower than in the presidential elections, due in July.
But the legislative elections matter beyond determining who get to sit in parliament. The party that wins more than 25% of the popular vote or 20% of the 560 seats in the parliament will be allowed to field its own presidential candidate. Others will have to form a coalition.
Until Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, known here as Jokowi, announced his presidential bid last month, no party was believed to be able to meet the thresholds.
