Jakarta – The national elections body complained Tuesday about problems with determining the number of eligible voters in several areas across the country.
"We acknowledge that there are discrepancies in the number of voters in certain areas, so we are relying on the previously calculated figure," General Elections Commission (KPU) member I Made Putu Arta said after a hearing at the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) office in Jakarta.
He pointed out the election law did not stipulate rechecking of the number of eligible voters, and that the reevaluation of figures was based on a KPU regulation.
"We will cross-check the data by involving local officials from some areas. Perhaps we can do something about these discrepancies without violating the law," Putu said.
The commission listed 169,558,775 eligible voters last year. The most recent count by the commission, however, is 169,688,741.
The current figures mean every province lacks 50,000 voters, except for East Java and Papua, which lack more than 100,000 voters.
The discrepancy has drawn complaints from DPD members, who said the KPU must work more seriously in recording data accurately. I Wayan Sudarta, a DPD councilor from Bali, urged the commission to count the voters more carefully.
"Their voices are more important than money or time. We hope the commission will register all people eligible to vote, without strict conditions to fulfill," he said.
He added that many people in Bali remained unregistered because they did not possess complete data, such as family cards, despite having lived there for a long time.
Besides the inconsistency in the number of voters, the commission also came under fire for not educating the public about the new mechanism for voting.
DPD members urged the commission to be more concerned with this issue because most people in the country were still unaware about how to vote under the new mechanism. The change in the voting procedure means voters may tick, cross or punch their selection on the ballot.
Harun al Rasyid, a DPD member from West Nusa Tenggara, said he was sure the number of people who would abstain from voting would increase drastically due to the lack information about the new voting mechanism.
"People, including the old and less educated, will not vote because of the fear of making a mistake," he said, adding that many people could not read the Latin alphabet. Putu Arta acknowledged the lack of election information throughout Indonesia.
"We just received funds for campaigning in December last year," he said. He added the United Nations Development Program had donated some funds for the KPU to carry out its public awareness drive ahead of the legislative and presidential elections.
He said these funds would be disbursed to all provinces and regencies. "By March, people will know how to vote under the new mechanism," Putu said.
The KPU launched two public service advertisements on five national TV stations Saturday, aimed at raising awareness about the elections, including how to mark the ballot. (naf)