It was not immediately clear who Yudhoyono would face in a second round, with President Megawati and another former army general, Wiranto, in a close race for second place. The outcome was in further doubt because election officials ordered a recount of many invalid ballots, and official results were not expected for ten days.

The vote took place six years after the dictator Suharto was ousted, and was a key step in the transition to democracy in the world’s largest Muslim country.

The poll by the Washington-based National Democratic Institute showed that General Yudhoyono failed to win the 50 per cent of votes needed for an outright victory.

The private institute put General Yudhoyono ahead with 33.9 per cent. President Megawati was second with 24.9 per cent, and another former army general, Wiranto, had 23.8 per cent.

The winner will face a host of challenges: poverty, corruption, an economy that lags behind those elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the threat of terrorism from Islamic militants and separatist insurgencies in the eastern and westernmost regions of the country.

More than 80 per cent of Indonesia’s 210 million people are Muslim, but few espouse hardline interpretations of the faith. No candidate campaigned on a pledge to introduce Islamic law. (AP)

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