Quick counts from five pollsters give the incumbent between 54.4 per cent and 55.7 per cent of the votes, with around 38 per cent of votes counted.

The same counts give Mr Prabowo between 45.6 per cent and 43.9 per cent of the votes.

As voting for Indonesia’s biggest round of elections got off to a smooth start, both presidential hopefuls were upbeat about their chances at the polls.

President Joko Widodo, who is seeking a second term in office, showed up at his polling station at the State Administration building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, while his 76-year-old running mate Ma'ruf Amin cast his vote in North Jakarta.

When asked about his chances, Mr Joko, who was at his polling station about two hours before the polls are set to close, said he remained optimistic, adding: "The way we work is we are always optimistic."

And to a question on his expected winning margin, the President, in his signature folksy drawl, told reporters: "Later lah, be patient, we will see later. It's only been a few hours, we will see later."

Mr Joko, who goes by the popular moniker Jokowi, said his plan after voting was to "makan (eat)... with Ibu Jokowi", referring to his wife.

His opponents, presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, 67, and his running mate Sandiaga Uno, 49, showed up at their respective polling stations in Hambalang, West Java, and South Jakarta bright and early. They later posed gamely for the media with two ink-stained fingers - their ballot number is 02 - extended.

Mr Prabowo was also feeling good about his chances. "I'm feeling optimistic," he told a reporter, according to The Jakarta Post. "We estimate (we will win) with 63 per cent."

Election officials have begun a manual count of votes casts after the polls closed at 1pm local time on Wednesday.

Official results for the elections will only be announced about a week later, but unofficial "quick count" results are expected to be released in a few hours' time.

Quick counts conducted by private polling and survey agencies, which look at a sample of ballots after polling closes to estimate the overall vote, have largely proven to be accurate in past elections.

There have been worries about possible unrest over the results of the tight presidential race that has divided a nation. Mr Prabowo - who challenged the results of the 2014 presidential elections, in which he lost to Mr Joko by a margin of about six percentage points - has urged his supporters to act peacefully, but added on Wednesday that any chaos that ensues would be “out of his hands”.

"If the election is held honestly, there should be no problem," said Mr Prabowo, whose team has raised doubts over voter rolls, claiming that 17.5 million names on the list are problematic. "But I don't have power over (any potential conflicts)."

Mr Sandiaga, speaking to reporters at his polling station, said that on the campaign trail these past months, he had seen how truly rich in resources Indonesia is.

"Our tremendous human resources are sometimes forgotten," he said, adding that the polls were a referendum on the economy.

"I'm happy and thankful that this election has been about the economy, on issues such as job opportunities - especially for millennials - and the prices of staples for housewives. We focus on the issue of the economy, which unites us, instead of other issues that have the potential to tear society apart," Mr Sandiaga said.

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