Voters in high spirits despite heavy storms and severe flooding

JAKARTA - Heavy storms and severe flooding did not dampen the spirits of millions of Indonesians as they ushered in "pesta demokrasi", or "festival of democracy", by casting their votes in the country's simultaneous national and local elections on Feb 14.

Indonesians visited about 800,000 polling stations across the archipelago, as they voted to have their voices heard on whom they want as their next president and vice-president, as well as executive and legislative representatives.

Some 205 million Indonesians were eligible to vote in this election, but it is not known how many of them have voted so far.

Polling got off to a slow start in Jakarta, with thunderstorms causing floods in parts of the capital.

Jakarta-based architect Jesslyn, who is in her 30s and whose name has only one word, like some Indonesians, said she waited for about an hour at home for the rain to subside before leaving to vote at around 9am.

But not everyone was as lucky, as the weather forced some Indonesians to adjust their plans to vote.

In Demak regency in Central Java, the election authorities postponed voting in about 10 villages after more than 100 polling stations were affected by severe floods. Under Indonesian law, voting can be postponed to no later than 10 days after Polling Day.

Flooding was also reported in other parts of Indonesia, including Lampung in Sumatra and Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara, where polling stations had to be relocated and officials had to move voting materials.

Photos on social media showed officials carrying voting boxes over their heads as they waded through waist-high water.

For the most part, however, voting was relatively smooth throughout the day, as the more than five million volunteers from the General Elections Commission made sure that as few people as possible ran into issues.