Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 5 July and 20 September 2004. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held, in which Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defeated Megawati Sukarnoputri and was elected president. They were the first direct presidential elections in the history of Indonesia; prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, both the president and vice president had been elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Under the new amendment, a candidate pair is elected into office after receiving more than 50% of the vote nationally with at least 20% of the vote in more than half of the provinces of Indonesia. If no pair receives the number of votes required, the election will continue into the second round with the pairs receiving the highest and second-highest number of votes. Further regulations set by the General Elections Commission (KPU) state that each pair must be nominated by a political party or coalition of parties which received at least 5% of the popular vote or 3% of the seats to the People's Representative Council (DPR) in the April legislative election.
The incumbent, Megawati Sukarnoputri, rose to the presidency following the impeachment of her predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, from office. Megawati's bid for a full term was challenged by four candidates, including incumbent vice president Hamzah Haz. In the first round, former cabinet member and retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received a plurality of the valid ballots submitted, followed by Megawati. Yudhoyono eventually defeated Megawati with 60.62% of the valid ballots in the second round. He was inaugurated as the sixth president of Indonesia on 20 October 2004.
In the 1999 legislative election, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) won the most number of seats in the People's Representative Council (DPR) and became the largest faction in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the legislative body responsible for electing the president of Indonesia. The PDI-P was led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's first president. Megawati's supporters had expected her to be elected president by the MPR, but she failed to reach out to parties other than the National Awakening Party (PKB). Her only opponent at the time was President B. J. Habibie, who came into office in May 1998, but he withdrew his candidacy after his accountability speech was rejected by the MPR.
The PKB, which was led by Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), had also pledged to support Megawati for president. However, it became clear that Megawati did not have enough votes to back her candidacy. Additionally, National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien Rais and his Central Axis (Indonesian: Poros Tengah), a coalition of Islamic and reform parties, began pushing for Wahid's candidacy. Wahid eventually won the MPR's presidential election, and Megawati was elected as vice president. As president, he repealed many of the laws enacted during the Suharto era that discriminated against Chinese Indonesians. Among these was the banning on the use of Chinese characters and display of images relating to Chinese culture. Following this act, many political parties began to reach out to Chinese Indonesians for their votes by displaying Chinese characters on campaign material.
Following Wahid's impeachment and removal from office by the MPR in July 2001, the legislative body elevated Megawati to the presidency. She would complete the remainder of Abdurrahman's five-year term, ending in October 2004. During its 2002 annual session, the MPR added a series of amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia, including the removal of the military's 38 appointed seats in the Assembly, and an amendment for direct election of the president and vice president. This presidential election process would involve political parties nominating a presidential and vice-presidential ticket with the option of a runoff election.
In December 2003, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) began a tracking survey in order to assess the popularity of potential candidates. The survey continued until the start of the first election round on 5 July and included thirteen possible candidates for president. The first IFES survey indicated that incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri received a plurality of the votes. However, by the time of the April 2004 legislative election, retired General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had taken the lead from Megawati after resigning from her cabinet in March. Other potential candidates included DPR Speaker Akbar Tanjung and Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwana X.
The results of the legislative election determined which political parties were eligible to submit presidential tickets. Only parties which received at least 5% of the popular vote or 3% of seats (17 of 550 seats) in the DPR would be allowed to submit candidates. Parties that did not meet these criteria must join with other parties to meet at least one criterion. Seven political parties met these criteria: Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP), the Democratic Party (PD), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and the National Mandate Party (PAN). The PKS was the only party not to nominate candidates, but it later threw its support behind the PAN.
The KPU announced the final list of candidates on 14 May. Following the announcement, all candidates were required to undergo medical screening. On 22 May, the commission announced that the PKB's presidential candidate, former President Abdurrahman Wahid, had failed the eye test and was not allowed to enter in the election. He initially told supporters not to vote for a presidential candidate on election day but decided to retract that statement after pressure from the party.
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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. With this nomination, PKB leaders officially supported the Wiranto–Salahuddin pair for the election.
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.
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.