President BJ Habibie has given the commission one week to evaluate allegations of vote-rigging and vote-buying before a decision is made on how to proceed.

The president is able to veto the results of the country's first free elections in more than four decades - but correspondents say this is unlikely.

Election commission official Andi Mallarangeng: This is definitely a case of sour grapes

The results must be endorsed by two-thirds of the National Election Commission before the poll can be ratified.

The commission has 53 members, made up of 48 political party representatives and five government appointees.

Representatives of all five major parties did sign the results but smaller parties refused, alleging voting irregularities.

In turn, the smaller parties have been accused of sour grapes - hindering the announcement of the result because they did not win many, or in some cases any, seats.

Election commission official Andi Mallarangeng said: "I am very sad that so many people refused to sign just because they didn't get enough votes and seats."

In all, 21 commission members endorsed the results, but 28 refused to do so and four were not present at the signing ceremony.

Demonstration

The BBC's Linda Duffin: "The minority parties have thrown a spanner in the works."

A correspondent in Jakarta said that if the objections were accepted a new round of polling might be necessary in at least some of Indonesia's 27 provinces.

Hundreds of youths demonstrated outside the commission's head office, as members were meeting inside to discuss whether the vote could be ratified.

They were demanding the commission remove representatives from the smaller parties, who have been accused of obstructing the count because they did not win any seats.

Commission members who voted against endorsing the vote were jeered as they left the building.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Mark Bowling: "Allegations of vote-rigging"

Agus Miftah, a commission member who refused to endorse the poll, said: "I think this election was not of a high standard because there were many crimes during the vote."

Unofficial results have given the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, a clear lead with 34% of the vote.