Indonesians began choosing a new president on Wednesday as the world's third-largest democracy aspires to become a global economic powerhouse just over 25 years since emerging from a brutal authoritarian era.

Polls open at 7 am local time in each of Indonesia's three time zones. The first region began voting at 22.00 GMT. The incumbent Indonesian defence minister, who has been accused of human rights atrocities as an ex-general, and two former governors are vying to succeed the still-widely popular President Joko Widodo. Widodo's rise from a riverside slum to his country's presidency has showcased the vibrancy of his Southeast Asian nation's democracy in a region rife with authoritarian regimes.