JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesian voters hungry for change are expected to do something today that was unthinkable during the country’s three decades of authoritarian rule—toss out an incumbent president and vote in a political newcomer who has promised to crackdown on corruption and revive the battered economy.Polls shows Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is often referred to by his initials SBY, with more than a 25-percentage point lead over President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Most analysts expect the former general will win the historic election in a landslide.With campaigning ending Friday, both candidates were resting at home Sunday and the only sign of an election were poll workers busily building outdoor voting stations.Police say they have deployed nearly 140,000 officers across the vast archipelago to guard polling stations. There are fears of a terrorist attack, after an explosion outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on September 9 killed nine. The blast has been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiah.“The terrorists would most like to target public facilities, certain embassies, government offices and police headquarters,” police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar said.Today’s election will complete a democratic process that began in April with parliamentary elections. It was followed in July with the country’s first direct presidential election, which was won by Yudhoyono.But because he didn’t secure a majority of the vote, the 55-year-old Yudhoyono is required to face second-place finisher Megawati in a run-off.Despite having to go to the polls for the third time in six months, voters said they were thrilled to have the chance to elect a president following Suharto’s 32-year dictatorship and a chaotic, six-year democratic transition in which the three previous presidents were chosen by the legislature.“SBY has a lot of confidence so I think he will make this country better,” said noodle vendor Susilowati, proudly showing off her membership card from Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party. “I’d be so happy if he won.”The two elections so far have gone off without violence and analysts say a peaceful political transition in Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, will be further evidence that democracy and Islam are compatible.Both Megawati, the 57-year-old daughter of Indonesia’s founding father Sukarno, and Yudhoyono are practicing Muslims but have a firmly secular outlook.Yudhoyono is seen as having been tough on terrorism during his tenure as Megawati’s security chief. Washington is concerned about Jemaah Islamiah providing a foothold for al-Qaeda in the strategically vital archipelago of 13,000 islands straddling the confluence of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.Yudhoyono is also seen by voters as a fresh face in the country who will address the country’s endemic corruption and double-digit unemployment. And because his coalition is largely made up of smaller parties, voters say he won’t be beholden to the political elite who have been blamed for blocking judicial and bureaucratic reforms.--AP