Word: indonesia
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Being "only a heartbeat away" from the presidency takes on added significance when the ailing president has suffered two strokes - which is why the election Thursday of Indonesia's new vice president is a lot more than a formality. Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose shock defeat for the presidency in Indonesia's byzantine balloting system Wednesday set off a night of rioting, said she would take the job for "for the sake of the nation." Her path was cleared by an apparent consensus among the political elites that saw the withdrawal of two key rivals, armed forces chief General Wiranto and Akbar...
...economic thinking, save for general statements about complying with IMF requirements. Although he led a coalition of Islamic parties that opposed giving the presidency to a woman, Wahid is considered relatively liberal and his insistence on ending social unrest made him a more comfortable option than Megawati for Indonesia's military and political elite. But by easing her into the vice presidency, that elite also appears to have calculated that they're better off bringing the favorite of the street protesters into the system than leaving her out in the cold...
Despite the trappings of democracy, Indonesia?s presidential election process is about as transparent as the Vatican?s College of Cardinals. And so, as the 700-seat national assembly gets set to choose a new president on Wednesday, tension over the outcome is increasing, with the legislative building surrounded by angry demonstrators. "None of the three front-runners commands a majority in the assembly, and that has laid the process open to precisely the kind of Byzantine backroom deal-making that has enraged the protestors outside," says TIME Asia reporter Nisid Hajari...
...General Wiranto remarked cryptically on Monday that he would be prepared to enter politics if "the people" wanted him. For those outside the chamber, Wednesday may seem a little like waiting in St. Peter?s Square for that puff of smoke. Except that unlike the Catholic faithful, those outside Indonesia?s assembly may well reject the outcome...
...India 1,529 million 2. China 1,478 million 3. U.S. 349 million 4. Pakistan 345 million 5. Indonesia 312 million 6. Nigeria 244 million 7. Brazil 244 million 8. Bangladesh 212 million 9. Ethiopia 169 million 10. Congo 160 million...