After polls closed yesterday in Indonesia, officials from the leading opposition party claimed early success, through the final shape of the future parliament will not become clear until counting nears its conclusion later today.
The poll attracted a huge turnout from 112 million registered voters, and was conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere. However, thousands of people fled their homes in Indonesia's restive Aceh province as schools and government offices were burned amid an election boycott, and in the city of Surabaya seven students were injured when troops charged a group of protesters claiming the election was unfair.
A team of 350 international monitors will today give their assessment of the election but initial reports indicate little of the massive vote-rigging which accompanied the 32-year-old reign of former president Suharto.
As an indication of popular feeling, neighbours of ex-president Suharto and his chosen successor President B. J. Habibie in the elite South Jakarta suburb where they both live delivered a major snub to the ruling Golkar Party, which has nominated Mr Habibie as its presidential candidate in a selection process later this year.
Golkar took only 10 per cent of the 300-strong vote in the Menteng suburb, compared to 33 per cent for the popular opposition Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), led by Ms Megawati Sukharnoputri, daughter of the country's first leader. PDI-P did even better in south Jakarta, taking 40 per cent of the vote. Voters had the task of choosing 462 seats in the 500-member parliament, with the remaining 38 seats reserved for the military.
Aides to Ms Megawati said last night that early returns from East Timor, the Moluccas and Irian Jaya showed support for PDI-P running at 70 to 80 per cent and at 50 per cent in Jakarta.
The National Mandate Party (PAN), another opposition party and possible coalition partner, rejected the PDI-P claims. An official said: "It is too early to predict the result but I believe we stand very close with PDI-P."