Six countries congratulate Indonesia on successful presidential polls

Six heads of state/government had congratulated the Indonesian government on its success of the direct presidential election which was held on July 8, 2009.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal made the remarks here on Friday after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas` congratulatory message on Indonesia`s success in holding the election.

"The six heads of state/government who had sent congratulatory messages are Malaysian Prime Minister, the Timor Leste President, Singapore Prime Minister, Australian Prime Minister, South Korea`s President, Palestinian President and the Philippine President," Patti Djalal said.

The spokesman said that the congratulations were a reflection of international recognition and respect of the implementation of democracy in Indonesia.

On Thursday (July 9), the US embassy in Jakarta issued Ambassador Cameron R Hume`s statement congratulating Indonesia holding the presidential election.

"We congratulate the government and people of Indonesia for an orderly and peaceful presidential election," the ambassador said.

The presidential election once again showed the commitment of the Indonesian people to their dynamic democracy, he added.

He also congratulated President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his success.
Earlier, Palestinian Ppresident Mahmud Abbas in a telephone-conversation with Yudhoyono on Friday at 6.35 pm, conveyed his congratulatory message on the success of the election.

In his response, Yudhoyono who is the incumbent president thanked Abbas and pointed out that Indonesia always supports the struggle of the Palestinian people for independence.

In the provisional results of the vote counts issued by the General Elections Commission (KPU), Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who paired with Boediono was still leading in the race, collecting 61.66 percent of the total number of votes.

The Mega-Pro and JK-WIN pairs trailed behind with a vote collection of 28.57 percent and 9.77 percent respectively.

Three presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs competed in the election, namely former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate retired Lt. General Prabowo Subianto, president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who pairs with Boediono, and incumbent vice president M Jusuf Kalla and retired general Wiranto.(antaranews.com)