Electoral districts, based on long-standing administrative divisions of regencies and cities, will choose 427 representatives.

CNN: THE NEW ELECTION MATH

So they chose cities and regencies instead, because they reckoned that these would not be large enough to break away.

ECONOMIST: How far should regional autonomy go?

In the meantime, the amended law gives provincial governments some authority to supervise cities and regencies on behalf of the centre.

ECONOMIST: How far should regional autonomy go?

But only 40% of regencies and cities bother to inform the centre of the measures they are taking, according to Mr Agung.

ECONOMIST: How far should regional autonomy go?

In the three troubled regencies of Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh, the vote was postponed to June 19 and 20, but has now been postponed again.

CNN: AFTER THE EUPHORIA

Certainly it would make sense to plan infrastructure projects at a higher level, to avoid building hospitals with the same specialisation in adjacent regencies, say, or having new roads end abruptly at the city limits.

ECONOMIST: How far should regional autonomy go?

Syaukani, the regent, as the head of a regency is known, explains that Kutai's budget has risen from 400 billion rupiah to 2 trillion since the autonomy law took effect, even as it lost two-thirds of its population to other regencies.

ECONOMIST: How far should regional autonomy go?