Cipinang inmates exercise voting rights

JAKARTA: Some 3,240 inmates voted for the presidential election at six polling stations in Cipinang Penitentiary - Jakarta's largest prison - in East Jakarta on Wednesday morning.

Voting began at 8 a.m. under the supervision of 120 prison wardens.

"We've got nothing much going on here, so we are definitely participating in this event," Faisal, who is in prison for a drug-related crime, told kompas.com.

Inmates said they have been following issues surrounding the election through newspapers and television stations.

More than 176 million Indonesians are eligible to vote today to decide whether incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or former-president Megawati Soekarnoputri get their second term, or if incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla gets the top seat. - JP