Jakarta – The conduct of Indonesia's first direct presidential election has enabled Indonesians to cast their votes freely and fairly, an Australian election observer said here Thursday.

"The election was another significant step in Indonesia's democratic transition," leader of the delegation of Australian election observers, Chris Gallus MP, said.

She said the Indonesian government and the General Elections Commission (KPU) should be congratulated for the effective conduct of the polls.

"It has been a privilege to observe the presidential election and to see the Indonesian democratic process at work," she said.

The delegation, she added, also appreciated KPU's effort to address concerns over the question of invalid votes.

"The election proceeded peacefully. Our team, which covered a number of polling stations in seven provinces, did not consider minor incidents observed and reported as having affected the overall national integrity of the electoral process," she said.

In undertaking their task, the Australian observers supported the efforts of Indonesian election monitors and worked alongside other international observers, including those from the United States, Japan and the European Union.

Australia has provided Aus$15 million in assistance for the 2004 legislative and presidential elections.

In particular, it provided Aus$2 million in assistance to the People's Votes Education Network (JPPR).

The JPPR had deployed more than 100,000 volunteers and community-based election monitors nationwide for the presidential polls.

Australia is planning to send another delegation to observe the second round of Indonesia's presidential polls in September.