And Indonesia too...

Close on the heels of my post about the logistical complexity and scale of the India's upcoming general election, comes this short one on Indonesia. Yes, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, with a population of 240 million, also goes to polls this year, and The Economist has a feature on the country in its latest issue.

The poll itself is an exercise whose scale and logistical complexity are second only to those of a general election in India. Across more than 900 inhabited islands, 171m people have registered to vote. They have 38 national parties to choose from, and an estimated 800,000 candidates for the national parliament, known as the DPR, and lower-level provincial and other legislatures. And this is only the start of what may be a three-stage process.

Strangely, Indonesia's national motto is "Unity in Diversity" -- exactly the phrase I heard growing up in India.