Talking points

Nearly 190 million Indonesians have the chance to vote in today's parliamentary elections. They will choose 560 representatives to the lower house, plus 132 for the upper house. There are 550,000 polling stations scattered across the country's 900 inhabited islands. The elections are important because they determine who will be able to stand in presidential elections in July. Analysts say the front runner to become the next president is Jakarta governor Joko Widodo.

Legislative councillors start their annual debate on the budget. The debate is likely to be lengthy because councillors have submitted more than 1,900 amendments. People Power legislators plan to mount a filibuster because they think the government has not done enough to help the poor. All eyes will be on whether Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing will halt the debate, as he did last year after 109 hours of discussion.