Jakarta goes to polls for governor amid traffic woes

Residents in Indonesia's capital have ousted an incumbent governor for a challenger who pledged to improve the city's infrastructure, exit polls showed. Joko Widodo, the mayor of a city 2,700 kilometres away, beat Fauzi Bowo, the current Jakarta governor, according to polls taken after voting closed yesterday. Official results will be released in about a week.

Pollster Jaringan Suara Indonesia had the race at 53.28 per cent for Widodo and 46.72 per cent for Bowo, while Lingkaran Survey Indonesia had Widodo winning 53.68 per cent to 46.32 per cent.

"Based on a number of quick counts ... while awaiting a final result by the electoral commission, we want to express our respect to [Widodo and his running mate] who led the race and won," Bowo told MetroTV.

Widodo, a businessman-turned-mayor, said: "I want to thank the people for their trust … Fauzi called to congratulate me." Widodo, 51, is backed by the country's second largest political party, the Democratic Party of Struggle, and the Great Indonesia Movement Party led by Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander.

Both candidates had pledged to improve the mass transit system, which has been delayed since studies were first conducted in the 1980s. Traffic in the capital gets so bad that motorists pay bystanders to join them in carpool lanes during rush hour.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a researcher at polling agency Indonesia Survey Institute, said wealthier residents, who comprised a fifth of eligible voters, were expected to cast their ballots for Widodo.