The 2004 legislative election was the most complicated in Indonesian history because Indonesians had to vote for representatives at the national, provincial, and regental levels. These factors made Indonesia's electoral system unique from other systems in the world. The election was described as the longest and most complicated election in the history of democracy and secured the nation's place as the world's third-largest democracy. Even before the election, the seat allocation system for the People's Representative Council was also deemed "the most complicated in the world" by several news sources across the country.