Wiranto and Salahuddin Wahid

Golkar had won the April legislative election after losing to the PDI-P five years prior. The party nominated retired General Wiranto and Salahuddin Wahid, deputy chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, for its presidential ticket. The pair was assigned the number 1 for its ballot.^[11]

Wiranto was an adjutant to former President Suharto in 1989–1993. During this time, he rapidly rose to the rank of full general and eventually became the head of the National Armed Forces.^[12] When riots broke out throughout the country in 1998 against Suharto, he refused to take control in order to avoid the deaths of protesting university students. In 1999, as East Timor held an independence referendum, Wiranto was accused of having taken part in inciting violence among East Timorese along with several other officers; however, he was never issued an arrest warrant by Interpol.^[13] Under President Abdurrahman Wahid, Wiranto served as the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs but was later dismissed. On 20 April 2004, the Golkar Convention voted to nominate him for president over DPR Speaker Akbar Tanjung in the second round of voting.^[12]

On 9 May Golkar selected Salahuddin Wahid (also known as Gus Sholah) as its vice-presidential candidate after an endorsement was made by his brother Abdurrahman.^[14] Because Salahuddin was also a deputy chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama, many NU members criticised him for not adhering to the organisation's khittah, which affirmed the NU's status as a non-political organisation.^[15] With this nomination, PKB leaders officially supported the Wiranto–Salahuddin pair for the election.^[12]

Salahuddin's position on the human rights commission helped the reputation of Wiranto. However, because both candidates were of Javanese background, they were not expected to attract as many voters who were not Javanese.^[12]

Megawati Sukarnoputri and Hasyim Muzadi

Incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri was the PDI-P's top nominee. She was joined by vice-presidential candidate Hasyim Muzadi, general chairman of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). The pair was assigned the number 2 for its ballot.^[11]

According to a report released by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Megawati has a "unique burden of being the only candidate in the race who is held responsible for the current situation most voters are unhappy with" although several other candidates have been members of her government.^[16] However, the general discontent for her presidency was attributed mainly to the failure of the government to communicate Megawati's achievements rather than the state of the country itself.^[17] The PDI–P came in second during the April legislative election with 18.5% of the votes, a reduction by almost half from the 33.7% it had received in 1999.^[18]

Hasyim Muzadi had been mentioned as a possible running mate for Megawati as early as November 2003.^[19] His candidacy was officially announced by Megawati on 6 May.^[20] As Chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama, he was criticised by many NU members for not adhering to the organisation's khittah and the principle of political neutrality.^[15] Muslim intellectual Nurcholish Madjid had called on him to step down from the position following the announcement of the candidacy.^[21]

The two candidates' Javanese background were not expected to attract as many non-Javanese voters.^[12] However, the candidates' status as civilians attracted those who did not favour candidates with a military background, and they also were expected to attract both secular and religious voters.^[22]

Amien Rais and Siswono Yudo husodo

The PAN nominated Amien Rais, chairman of the MPR, as its presidential candidate. His running mate was Siswono Yudohusodo. The pair was assigned the number 3 for its ballot.^[11]

Amien Rais had once served as the chairman of Muhammadiyah. However, despite leading the second-largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia, Amien established the PAN following the resignation of President Suharto as a party not based on religious affiliation. He became an influential figure in the early days of the reform period and was eventually elected to lead the MPR.^[23] Among voters, he was seen as a candidate who had no association with the corruption that was endemic to the nation's government. Voters also saw him as an ambitious person and as one who was known for being an orator.^[16] Amien's party had received 6.4% of the votes during the legislative election.^[18]

On the other hand, Siswono Yudohusodo was a relative newcomer to the political scene. He served as the chairman of the Indonesian Farmers' Association (HKTI) and held ministerial positions during the later years of Suharto's presidency.^[22] Siswono was the wealthiest of any candidate for president or vice president based on reports submitted by candidates to the Corruption Eradication Commission.^[24]

Like Megawati and Hasyim, Amien and Siswono were also not expected to attract many non-Javanese voters. The pair was supported by the PKS, the seventh party which met the criteria to submit presidential and vice-presidential candidates but did not do so, and a number of smaller parties.^[22]

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla

The Democratic Party, supported by PKPI and PBB, nominated retired General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for its presidential candidate. He was later joined by Jusuf Kalla as running mate, and the pair was assigned the number 4 for its ballot.^[11]

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono served in the cabinets of two previous administrations. While serving as Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs under Abdurrahman Wahid, he refused an order to declare a state of emergency that would have stopped the parliamentary process to impeach the President and was subsequently dismissed.^[26] Yudhoyono was nominated for vice president after the MPR selected Megawati to succeed Abdurrahman Wahid, but he lost the election to PPP Chairman Hamzah Haz and DPR Speaker Akbar Tanjung.^[27] He reprised his prior cabinet position in Megawati's administration but resigned on 1 March 2004 to join the race for the presidency.^[22] The Democratic Party, established as a vehicle for Yudhoyono's political career by secular nationalists who saw the potential of his leadership,^[27] received 7.45% of votes and 10% of DPR seats in the April legislative election.^[18]

Yudhoyono's running mate was Jusuf Kalla, a wealthy Bugis businessman and member of Golkar who served as Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare under Megawati.^[28] He mediated two separate peaceful resolutions to inter-religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims in his native Sulawesi in 2001 and Maluku in 2002.^[29][30] Kalla joined Golkar's selection process for the party's presidential nominee in August 2003 but withdrew his candidacy days before the party convention the following April.^[31][32] Several days later, he resigned his cabinet position and announced his alliance with Yudhoyono.^[28] Kalla was also seen as a potential vice-presidential candidate for the incumbent Megawati.^[33]

The combination brought together two men with very different backgrounds that added to the attractiveness of their ticket. Yudhoyono, who was raised in densely populated Java, is seen as more secular and has a military background. On the other hand, Kalla is a devout Muslim who grew up in the outer province of South Sulawesi and came from a civilian background.^[28]

Hamzah Haz and Agum Gumelar

Incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz was the presidential nominee of the PPP. He was joined by Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar for the vice-presidential candidate. The pair was assigned the number 5 for its ballot.^[11]

Hamzah Haz was elected vice president by the MPR after defeating DPR Speaker Akbar Tanjung when it removed President Abdurrahman Wahid from office in 2001. Although the BBC reported him once stating that "no woman was fit to head the world's leading Muslim nation", he came into office as the deputy to Indonesia's first female president. Haz served in the cabinet of President B. J. Habibie and was the first minister to resign from the Abdurrahman Wahid administration. He was accused of graft and nepotism but was never subjected to an investigation.^[34] As Vice President, Haz had been a proponent of an amendment to the Constitution which would impose Islamic law on Muslims in the country. However, other political parties and the Islamic organisations Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah opposed such amendment for fear of more extreme forms of Islam.^[35]

A relatively unknown figure in the political scene, Agum Gumelar served as Minister of Transportation under Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati.^[28] In September 2003, Agum had recommended Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or Jusuf Kalla as Megawati's running mate in the presidential election after predicting that the PDI–P would lose a significant number of votes in the April legislative election. However, both men eventually formed their own ticket, and Agum declined a vice-presidential candidate offer from Amien Rais in order to remain on the cabinet. He eventually accepted an offer from the PPP leadership to become Haz's running mate and resigned from Megawati's administration.^[36]

Neither candidate was of Javanese origin; hence, they might have attracted constituencies of the outer provinces.^[28]

Schedule

• 1 June 2004: All candidates sign the commitment of readiness to accept victory or defeat and to conduct a fair campaign.^[37] Campaign period begins.^[38]
• 1 July 2004: Campaign period ends.
• 5 July 2004: First round of voting.
• 20 September 2004: Second round of voting.
• 4 October 2004: Official second round results announced.^[39]
• 20 October 2004: Inauguration of the President-elect and Vice President-elect.

First round

Wiranto refused to accept the election results and petitioned the Constitutional Court. Wiranto and Salahuddin argued that, due to irregularities in ballot counting by the KPU, they had lost 5,434,660 votes from twenty-six provinces. Those ballots would have made the total popular vote for the pair higher than that for Megawati and Hasyim, putting the former pair instead of the latter in the second round. However, the Court ruled on 10 August that it found no irregularities and upheld the commission's final count.^[44]

Second round