First inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was nominated for vice president after the MPR selected Megawati to succeed Abdurrahman Wahid by F-KKI,^[5] but he lost the election to PPP Chairman Hamzah Haz and DPR Speaker Akbar Tanjung.^[6][7] He reprised his prior cabinet position in Megawati's administration but resigned on 1 March 2004 to join the race for the presidency.^[8] The Democratic Party, established as a vehicle for Yudhoyono's political career by secular nationalists who saw the potential of his leadership,^[6] received 7.45% of votes and 10% of DPR seats in the April legislative election.^[9]

Yudhoyono's running mate was Jusuf Kalla, a Buginese businessman and member of Golkar who served as coordinating minister for people's welfare under Megawati.^[10] Kalla joined Golkar's selection process for the party's presidential nominee in August 2003 but withdrew his candidacy days before the party convention the following April.^[11][12] Several days later, he resigned his cabinet position and announced his alliance with Yudhoyono.^[10]

Yudhoyono-Kalla gained 33.57% votes in the first round of the election.^[13][14] However, the requirements for winning the election is to gain at least 50% of the votes, this made Yudhoyono and Kalla must participate in the second round. On 20 September 2004, Yudhoyono-Kalla won 69,266,350 votes or 60.62% in the second round of the election beating Megawati-Hasyim.^[13][15] Yudhoyono and Kalla was Inaugurated on 20 October 2004.^[1]

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) session with the agenda for the Inauguration of the elected President and Vice President for the 2004-2009 period was held at 10:20 Western Indonesia Time (UTC +7).^[16] The session was chaired by the Chairperson of the MPR, Hidayat Nur Wahid. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla were sworn in at the DPR/MPR Building, on October 20, 2004.^[1] Yudhoyono and Kalla read out his oath of office in front of 611 out of 678 MPR RI members who were present.^[17] President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz did not attend the inaugural event.^[18][19]

It was the first time that foreign leaders had witnessed the swearing in of a new Indonesian president and vice-president.^[20][19] This is the list of foreign leaders who attended Yudhoyono's inauguration:

• Lee Hsien Loong
• Abdullah Badawi
• John Howard
• Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
• Mari Alkatiri

• Ananta, Aris; Arifin, Evi Nurvidya & Suryadinata, Leo (2005). Emerging Democracy in Indonesia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-981-230-322-6.
• MPR General Secretary (2006). People's Consultative Assembly, Republic of Indonesia. history, reality, and dynamics. Sekretariat Jenderal, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, Republik Indonesia.
• Koirudin (2004). Kilas Balik Pemilihan Presiden 2004 (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar. ISBN 979-3721-11-1.