WITH cigarette smoke swirling around him, East Java gubernatorial candidate Soekarwo queried his campaign staff: “What’s the news? Are we still ahead?” He had been monitoring the results broadcast on television, from the garage of his home, located at Jalan Kertajya Indah Timur, in Surabaya.

All eyes were on the television screen. From time to time, a yell from one of the campaign staff could be heard: “Madura is safe. We also won in