More than 176 million voters in Indonesia , from Jayapura, capital of the easternmost province of Papua to the southernmost province of Aceh , went to the polls on July 8 for the 2009 presidential election, local media reported.

More than 541,000 polling stations have been erected throughout the country. In Jakarta and some other regions, the presidential poll is open from 8 am to 1 pm Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).

Three presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs are competing in the country’s second direct presidential election 2009 since the reform era starting in 1998.

The competing candidates are former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and her pair retired general Prabowo Subianto, incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono, and incumbent vice president M Jusuf Kalla and retired general Wiranto, according to the Antara news agency.

The Indonesia’s National Election Commission (KPU) will directly release preliminary voting results based on SMS from officials at polling stations several hours after the closing of the voting, the Jakarta Post daily said.

However, complete and official results will only be announced at least a week after that.

Ha Hong Hai, Vietnamese Minister Counsellor to Indonesia , was among 54 high-ranking officers from 26 Asian and South Pacific countries to observe the elections./.