Indonesia's national election, which was held from April 5 to September 20, 2004, was the first direct national election
in its history. The most significant feature of this election is that Susilo, the leader of a small party, the Democrat Party, won the election and became the 6th president of the country, defeating the leaders of some big parties, including incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputeri. The main cause why Susilo could win in the competition with Megawati is that Megawati's
government did not have a good achievement record besides her poor campaign strategy and poor personal charisma in comparison with Susilo. Politically the new government is facing certain tests such as how to get supports from the big parties, how to maintain national security and stability and eliminate corruption , and economically it is facing some difficult problems such as how to increase and absorb investments, how to pay off the heavy debts and accelerate the construction of its infrastructure. In the future, Indonesia's political
situation may be relatively stable and its economic condition can be gradually improved, but there will not be big changes in a short time.