Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesians could get to elect their next president directly in 2004 after the country's highest legislative body yesterday approved a change to the Constitution.

Although the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) will formally sign off on the amendments today, the proposed changes to the way in which the country's top leader is chosen will not take immediate effect.

That is because the Indonesian parliament – whose members also serve in the MPR – still has to enact, debate and approve a raft of supporting legislation over the next year before direct presidential elections can become a reality.

Direct presidential elections are a controversial issue here and have been the focus of fierce debate in the past few weeks.

Last month even President Megawati Sukarnoputri – who would be one of the strongest contenders and a virtual certainty to win a direct election – said she did not think Indonesians were ready for a direct vote in 2004. She suggested that it would be better to delay the process until 2009.

Her view was surprising given that she was denied the presidency in 1999 – despite her party winning the most votes in the general election – because Muslim parties in the MPR formed an alliance and backed Mr Abdurrahman Wahid instead.

Among the major questions that were thrown up during the MPR debate was how the president would be chosen if no candidate gained 51 per cent of the votes in the first round of an election.

Some parties backed a proposal where the assembly would then choose the president. But this was criticised by some major parties, including the former ruling Golkar, as being no different from the existing system, where the MPR has the power to elect and dismiss presidents.

This week, the assembly agreed that in a second-round vote, the public would choose between the finalists in the presidential race. Parliament will still need to enact legislation on how many candidates will be put forward for the final vote.

Last month, in a wide-ranging poll, a majority of Indonesians rejected Islamic leadership for their country. The poll of more than 4,000 Indonesians showed support for an alliance between Ms Megawati and Chief Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the 2004 elections.

Ms Megawati's PDI-P party drew the most support from those polled – 29.4 per cent – followed by 27 per cent who had no preference. MPR Speaker Amien Rais and his PAN party was next with 19.8 per cent while Vice-President Hamzah Haz's Muslim-based United Development Party trailed with 6.6 per cent.