Soothing and strong with a Mr. Clean image, US-trained former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to win Monday's run-off poll in Indonesia and become the country's next president.

Unlike the taciturn incumbent, President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Yudhoyono has careful cultivated a man-of-the-people image, singing songs at campaign rallies, touring remote fishing villages and listening to market vendors, pressing flesh along the way.

Yudhoyono, known universally by his initials SBY, was first on the scene after the 2002 bombings on the tourist island of Bali, comforting the injured and vowing to track down the Islamic militants blamed for the attack. "I voted for SBY because I think he is smart and good looking. I want the country to be safer, I want prices to be lower and I want everyone to have the opportunity to go to school," said Siti Komariah, a 53-year-old housewife, who cast her ballot in a housing complex in West Jakarta.

Many believe that the ex-general trained at the US Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, will make the country more secure.

The only son of a retired army officer, Yudhoyono graduated first in his class from the military academy in 1973, rising steadily through the ranks. He retired from the service in 1999 and was named minister of energy the same year. He joined Megawati's administration as security minister in 2001, before quitting in March to contest the presidency.

Yudhoyono's military background includes stints in East Timor, the Portuguese colony Indonesia invaded and occupied in 1975. Questions have also been raised about his alleged role in human rights abuses, including a 1996 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Jakarta.

Besides being Indonesia's pointman on terrorism since 2001, Yudhoyono has sought to settle the country's bloodiest conflict – the 28-year separatist insurgency in Aceh province. He negotiated a six-month ceasefire with the rebels, but Megawati pulled out of the deal under pressure from hardline generals. If he is elected, negotiators say Aceh peace talks will restart next year.

Yudhoyono's election platform has been vague, and he has refrained from criticizing Megawati's political record because he was one of its chief architects. Nonetheless, Yudhoyono has emerged as the symbol of change. "SBY is strong, caring. He is hard," said Marni, a 37-year-old housekeeper, on her way to the polls. "He is best for Indonesia."