The year of testing democracy

His vanquisher, General Soeharto maintained ruthless control of the nation through his army-backed Orde Baru (New Order) administration, till a popular uprising in 1998 when the economy crashed.

By getting into democracy first Indonesia has avoided the violent dissent now flaring in the Middle East.

Megawati Soekarnoputri, 67, Soekarno's daughter by the third of his nine wives, apparently believes she's destined to lead the nation of 240 million as head of the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The party came third in the 2009 legislative elections but the people, not the politicians, choose the president. In a largely policy-free campaign electors will back personalities they recognise.

The polls are clear; if Megawati stands she'll lose. She was president between 2001 2004, but her term was a yawn and she was widely seen as a puppet of the military.

Since then she has been defeated twice by former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). He'll stand down this year as required by the constitution after ten years marked by economic stability and a growing middle class, but rising religious intolerance.

Indonesian elections are colourful events. Literally. Each party has its own hue. Voters poke a hole through a party symbol on the ballot paper. If no clear winner there'll be run offs. Overall the system is fair.

Megawati dithers on who'll carry the red bullhead flag of the PDI-P into the presidential ballot. She says she won't decide till after the 560-seat People's Representative Council results are clear.

Party pragmatists are urging her to anoint Joko Widodo, 52, the popular Mettalica-loving mayor of Jakarta with polls predicting he'd be a shoe-in for the top job.

Jokowi, as he's known, represents a clean break from the military-dominated past. In a nation where voting is not compulsory (71 per cent turned out in 2009) only an exciting candidate is likely to stir the disillusioned young and an electorate fed up with money politics.

Indonesia is youth dominated. One third of the nation's 187 million eligible voters are under 24, meaning few have any real knowledge of the repressive Soeharto era.

The press is now the freest and most robust in Asia, though Indonesians are not great readers and prefer electronic media for their information.