Jakarta – Former army general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is moving closer to an outright victory in Indonesia's July presidential election, a pollster said yesterday.

A poll by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate based in Jakarta showed around 46.6 per cent of 5,000 respondents nationwide chose the former security minister when asked who was the best choice to run the country for the next five years.

More than 150 million Indonesians are eligible to vote directly for their president for the first time in history on July 5.

With five contenders vying for the job, most observers doubt anyone can bag more than half the votes, a requirement for an outright win. If nobody does, the best two candidates from the first vote will go head-to-head in a September 20 run-off.

Supreme legislature chief Amien Rais, previously seen by many as an outside chance, came second with 19.7 per cent in the poll conducted late last month. Incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri trailed with 13.8 per cent.

Former military chief Wiranto, the nominee of the Golkar party that topped the April parliamentary elections, ranked only fourth with 10.5 per cent, while only 2 per cent of survey participants picked the fifth candidate, current Vice-President Hamzah Haz. Around 7 per cent of the respondents were undecided.

The syndicate's director, Mr Sukardi Rinakit, said Mr Bambang could win outright in the July race. "If his team really works hard, they can pull a surprise and push a majority. Unfortunately, many of them are focusing their efforts on a two-leg race although polls show it could be done in one go," he said.

But he said Mr Bambang's campaign and possible presidency faced tough challenges from the strong and well-established political machinery backing Ms Megawati and General Wiranto.

Golkar and Ms Megawati's party, the Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle, are the two biggest parties in the current Parliament and came in first and second respectively in the April legislative polls, winning 23 per cent and 20 per cent of the seats.

A new government will be sworn in after the presidential election. Mr Bambang's Democrat Party secured only 10 per cent of the parliamentary seats, although that was a respectable showing for a new party.

With his own party's lack of experience, the retired general puts a lot of hope in his running mate, popular tycoon Jusuf Kalla, a former social welfare minister, as well as a senior Golkar official and patron of one of the strongest factions in that party.