Indonesia president’s party leads vote, eyes coalition

JAKARTA, (Reuters) – Indonesia’s president said he  would seek coalition partners after early results from  elections yesterday showed his party ahead but not by as much  as expected, jeopardising the chance of sweeping reform.

A quick count of votes gave the Democrat Party of President  Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a reform-minded former general who  has won praise for his solid leadership of Indonesia, about one  fifth of the parliamentary vote.

That means his party will have to rely on coalition  partners in parliament, reducing the prospects for major  economic reforms in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, analysts  said.

“We offer a partnership in the next government and of  course a healthy, more healthy, relationship between the  government and parliament,” Yudhoyono told a news conference at  his home in Bogor, near the capital Jakarta.

“A lot more can be achieved in the next five years.”

The Democrats, which have led in most opinion polls, were  ahead of PDI-P with about 15 percent and Golkar with 14  percent, based on about 90 percent of the quick count vote  sample by the widely followed polling agency LSI. Official  results are not expected for days, but they are not likely to  differ much.

Yudhoyono, 59, is expected to win a second term in the more  important presidential election on July 8.

But political parties will now start talking to possible  coalition partners for parliament — where reforms can be  stifled — and Yudhoyono’s choice of ally or allies will  determine the extent to which he can improve the judiciary and  the civil service as well as clamp down on endemic corruption.