HONG KONG -- Ironically, at a time when the United States is trying to bring instant democracy to the Middle East, Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world, is undergoing a complex, three-tiered democratic election virtually unnoticed.
Indonesia lost the attention of modern media when it took well over a month to count the votes in its legislative election on April 5. When the final result eventually emerged it clearly indicated the likely shape of the presidential election to come on July 5.
First and last, the complex results proved the wisdom of those who made provision for a runoff election in September. Without the runoff, Indonesia, like the Philippines, would have been cursed with the weakness of a minority president because no one personality or political party has emerged with a dominant position in Indonesian politics.