Indonesia Elections: Eight Things You Need to Know

Supporters of Indonesia's Golkar party perform a traditional dance during a campaign rally ahead of elections in JakartaAFP

World's Third Biggest Election

Indonesia's the number three democracy in the world by size, after the United States and India. 186 million people are eligible to vote and turnout is expected to hit around 70%. Not a bad rate you may think, but it would be down on the last time. A number of high-profile graft scandals have hampered voter enthusiasm this time around

Hospitals preparing for wave of losers

Hospitals and medical clinics across Indonesia have been told to prepare extra beds to cope with a wave of distressed election losers in the wake of Wednesday's vote. The Jakarta Post spoke to Fadhilah Masjaya, director of a hospital in Samarinda.

"Most of the legislative candidates who will be prone [to depression] are beginners who are not ready to lose," he said. "Some of them probably have spent Rp 1 billion [$88,000] alone — then it's wasted and they become distressed"

Fourth Election Since Suharto's Exit

Suharto was president/dictator of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998. These elections mark the fourth vote since the autocrat left the scene, and the third time that Indonesians will directly choose their president

Indonesia's Economy Is on The Up

Indonesia is one of the most promising emerging markets. It's so promising that Jim O'Neill included the country in his latest group of fast-growing economies to watch out for – the Mints. Investors like the big consumer base and the political stability that the country's enjoyed.

Wannabe Presidents Need to be on Their Game

The voters may only be choosing the legislature this time around but a poor performance now could ruin a run for the presidency. Parties that fail to win wither less than 25% of the seats, or less than 20% of the popular vote, will be stopped from running their candidate in July's presidential elections

Indonesia's Elvis is Running for President

White jumpsuit? Check. Electric guitar? Check. Questionable hair? Check. Rhoma Irama, aka the Indonesian Elvis, is among a wave of celebrities pushing for votes in the legislative polls. The Islamist crooner hopes to get the political system all shook up and run for the presidency in July's vote

Opposition Surging to Poll Lead

The opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) are killing it in the polls. One last week had them at 37%. Closest rival Golkar, which used to be led by the notorious figure of Shuarto, is a miserable 20 points below the leaders. Keep your eye out for PDI-P leader Joko Widodo – he's fancied as the country's next president

Sitting President's Party Hurt by Graft Scandal

President Yudhoyono's not allowed to run due restrictions on term limits. But maybe that's for the best. His Democrat Party has been embarrassed by so many corruption scandals that they've slipped to fourth place in the polls