JEDDAH, 21 September 2004 — A large chunk of registered voters among Indonesian expatriates took part in the final round of voting in their country’s presidential election across Saudi Arabia yesterday.

In Jeddah, men and women started trickling in from 8 a.m. as the polling stations at the Consulate General of Indonesia and the Indonesian school opened. By noon, the turnout was below expectations but it picked up toward the evening. The polling continued up to 11 p.m.

Five candidates are in the race, including President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Among women voters were maids, housewives and tailors. “I’ve been looking forward to casting my vote and am delighted to have taken part,” said Mufradah ibn Muhammad Atif, 40. She has been here for three years working as tailor.

Muhammad Zainy, 41, who works as driver with a local family, said this was the second time he voted in any national election here. He had taken part in the parliamentary election held in April, said Zainy, who hails from Cilacap in south-central Java. By noon, 1,550 men and women had voted from among 13,579 registered voters.

H. Abdul Muis Basith, chairman of the Jeddah-based overseas election committee of the Indonesian expat community, accompanied by Didi Suryadi, security in charge at the consulate, Nurul Aulia, head of the consular section, and Didi S. Djajaprawira, vice consul, were supervising the arrangements at three polling stations at the consulate and four others at the school.

“Sixty-four Indonesian pilgrims who had come from Bandung to perform Umrah also voted,” Basith said. The consulate operated buses to transport voters from far-flung areas to the city.

In Abha, out of 300 registered voters 50 had voted by noon, Sabirullah Makam, consul at the Indonesian consulate, said from the polling station set up at a hotel in the southern city. Polling stations set up in the rest of the Western Province included three in Makkah and one each in Madinah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Baha. Makkah had 6,376 and Madinah 3,778 registered voters.

In Riyadh, two buses regularly plied between the main gate of the Diplomatic Quarter and the Indonesian Embassy to transport voters, Tugas Utomo, chairman of the Riyadh-based overseas election committee of the Indonesian community, said. “Riyadh has 12,000 registered voters and seven polling stations,” Utomo said.