Jakarta  - Three candidates are running in Indonesia's presidential election to be held on Wednesday, the second direct presidential poll in the country's history.

A run-off between the two candidates who win the most votes would be held in September if none of the three wins more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Here are brief profiles of the candidates:

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Yudhoyono won Indonesia's first direct presidential election in 2004 on pledges to root out corruption, reduce poverty and boost economic growth.

He has delivered on some of his election promises, including tackling corruption, but critics said Yudhoyono's government is not doing enough to alleviate poverty.

Born in the small village in East Java's southern coastal town of Pacitan 59 years ago, Yudhoyono is the only son of a retired army lieutenant.

His military career began in 1973 when he was named the best graduate at the national military academy. Yudhoyono, better known by his initials SBY, left the military in 2000 when former president Abdurrahman Wahid appointed him as minister of mining and energy.

He was later appointed coordinating minister for political and security affairs to replace Wiranto, who was sacked after allegations he was responsible for violence that marred East Timor's vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Yudhoyono has picked a former central bank governor and economic professor, Boediono, as his running mate in a move seen as aimed at boosting his economic credentials.

Yudhoyono's Democratic Party won April's legislative elections with about 21 per cent of the vote, and his re-election bid is backed by several, mostly Islamic, parties.

The 66-year-old American-trained Boediono is widely regarded as a respected technocrat favoured by the financial markets.

Jusuf Kalla

Jusuf Kalla, 67, is the current vice president and chairman of the Golkar Party, which was once a political vehicle of former dictator Suharto but has undergone reforms since the autocrat's downfall.

In 1999 Kalla, a wealthy businessman from Indonesia's eastern island of Sulawesi, was appointed trade minister by President Abdurrahman Wahid, but he was dismissed over corruption allegations, which were never proven.

In 2002, he was appointed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri as welfare minister, and in 2004, he was picked as Yudhoyono's vice presidential running mate.

Kalla is regarded as a skilled negotiator credited with helping to end religious bloodshed in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and negotiating peace deals in Ambon, Maluku and Aceh province at the northern end of Sumatra.

Kalla has portrayed himself in his campaign as a quick decision maker.

He has picked as his running mate Wiranto, 62, a former armed forces chief who made a failed presidential bid in 2004.

Wiranto graduated as a second lieutenant from the national military academy in 1968 and rose to military prominence after he became Suharto's adjutant in 1989.

Suharto appointed him armed forces chief in 1998, months before the veteran leader was forced to resign amid widespread unrest over his rule and an economic crisis.

He remained in his position as army commander under Suharto's successor, BJ Habibie.

As armed forces chief, Wiranto oversaw security during East Timor's independence vote when pro-Jakarta militiamen went on a killing and arson spree.

In 2003, Wiranto was indicted in absentia for crimes against humanity before a special panel in East Timor, but Indonesia ignored the indictment.

Megawati Sukarnoputri

Megawati, a 62-year-old daughter of founding president Sukarno, was appointed president in 2001 after Wahid was impeached for incompetence.

In 2004, Megawati, the chairwoman of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, lost to Yudhoyono in the country's first direct presidential election, as many were disappointed by her failure to promote reform and her perceived aloofness.

She has picked as her running mate Prabowo Subianto, a retired lieutenant general and former head of the controversial special forces unit Kopassus, who was once married to a daughter of Suharto.

Prabowo, 58, was dismissed from the military after troops under his command kidnapped pro-democracy activists in the months before Suharto's downfall in 1998,

He has taken responsibility for the kidnappings but said his "conscience is clear."

Megawati and Prabowo are campaigning on a platform of a people-oriented economy focusing on agriculture and fisheries. (dpa)