Jakarta - Three days before millions of Indonesian voters are due to go to the polls, opposition candidates on Monday urged the country's General Elections Commission to revise to the country's voter registration procedures. Two candidates in Wednesday's presidential election - Megawati Sukarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla - urged the commission to allow eligible voters whose names are missing from the voter lists to cast their ballots using their identity cards instead.
Megawati told a press conference that the election is a "way to represent the people's sovereignty and to uphold democracy."
She said she expected a ruling from the constitutional court later Monday would allow eligible voters whose names are missing from the voter lists to cast their ballots using only their identity cards.
KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said the commission shared a common view with the two candidates, but will wait for the decision from the constitutional court.
"The Constitutional Court is now trying the case. I hope the court approves the review," Anshary said, adding that if the court approved the use of ID cards, he would immediately instruct all polling officials across the country to implement the new ruling.
Megawati made similar complaints about April's general elections but those polls were declared legal and gave a whopping victory to Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, making it the strongest party in parliament.
More than 170 million Indonesian eligible voters will go to the polls on Wednesday to the second direct presidential election in the country's history.
Opinion polls indicate that incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will win more than 60 per cent of the vote, with Megawati and Kalla trailing far behind.
Yudhoyono's government has been credited with establishing political and economic stability as well as overseeing a strong anti-corruption drive. He has picked a respected economist and former central bank governor, Boediono, as his running mate to boost his economic credentials.
A runoff would be held in September if no candidate wins a clear majority in the first round.
