JAKARTA, Feb. 14 (Reuters) - Indonesians started voting on Wednesday in areas across the archipelago in an election headlined by the race to succeed popular President Joko Widodo, whose influence could determine who takes the helm of the world's third-largest democracy.
Nearly 259,000 candidates are contesting 20,600 posts across the archipelago of 17,000 islands in the world's biggest single-day election, but all eyes are on the presidency and the fate of Widodo's ambitious agenda after a decade in charge of Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
The race pits two former governors, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan, against controversial frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander feared in the 1990s as a top lieutenant of Indonesia's late strongman ruler Suharto.
Defence Minister Prabowo is contesting his third election after twice losing to Widodo, better known as Jokowi, who is tacitly backing and betting on his former rival as a continuity candidate to preserve his legacy, including a role for his son as Prabowo's running mate.
Jokowi, who cannot run again, has not explicitly backed a candidate but his implied endorsement is rubbing off on Prabowo, with two surveys last week projecting he will win the majority of votes and avoid a second round.
Those surveys showed Prabowo with 51.8% and 51.9% support, with Anies and Ganjar 27 and 31 points adrift, respectively. To win outright, a candidate needs over 50% of votes and to secure 20% of the ballot in half of the country's provinces.
"Jokowi as the decisive factor has been proven by the rising popularity of Prabowo," said Arya Fernandes of Indonesia's Center for Strategic and International Studies, noting voter turnout would be crucial to whether he could win in one round.
Voters have a six-hour window to cast ballots. Indonesia has three time zones and polling stations in the east have already opened with voting in western areas due to close by 0600 GMT.
Polling was due to have started in Jakarta, though after big thunderstorms there were reports of flooding in parts of the capital. At one central Jakarta polling station, the opening was delayed as boxes were delivered and officials sworn in.
The extent of delays was not clear but Jakarta's disaster management agency shared photographs of a flooded polling station as officials shifted voting materials to a safer location.
Earlier, the election commission said voting could be delayed in 10 villages in Central Java due to flooding.
Initial indications of the result are expected to emerge later on Wednesday, based on a sample of votes known as "quick counts". In previous elections, the unofficial counts tabulated by reputable companies have proved to be accurate.
Photo from Reuters
