It's a nice day for...
... staying at home and sipping lemonade on the terrace, strolling on the beach, watching daytime TV, for writing blogs, and, oh yes, I almost forgot, for voting.
At least there is a choice. Not between candidates admittedly, as there's little difference between them. Neither have followed the newly formulated rules. It is reported that the incumbent President Megawati's coalition, which includes Golkar, formerly Soeharto's power base, have contrived the most irregularities, but given that SBY is part of the entrenched political elite, albeit with a better singing voice, if I had the vote, I wouldn't use it.
The Jakarta Post editorial today, which I can't find online, advocates a vote against the candidate you like the least. An interesting viewpoint. If Megawati was as detestable as Bush, then I would certainly vote for SBY in order to keep her out. Unfortunately, he seems to be as characterless as Kerry.
Less corruption, better education, fewer terrorists and more dangdut. Identical political platforms. Heads or tails? Actually, the choice is as lightweight as the alloy coins used by supermarkets in place of sweets: jasmine flower or garuda (the state symbol).
'Er indoors is out there with our kid tossing her coin as I tap this out.
Who will win? If you're really agog, log on to the computerized count here.
Me? I've got XTC and a litre of lemonade to keep me happy.
Update 1 (2.30pm)
Our kid and I have just returned from serving as International Observers at the local polling stations. I've reported the following results to 'er indoors:
Mega: 145 (19%)
SBY: 767 (77%)
Spoiled papers and my bad arithmetic account for the rest.
What makes this particular set of results interesting, however, is that many families in this area are dependent on the employment at a catering company owned by a local bigwig in PKS (the Prosperous Justice Party). PKS endorsed the candidacy of SBY.
Don't tell anyone, please, as 'er indoors asked me to keep this bit of largesse secret.
