Bandung – While the number of eligible voters is predicted to rise, public participation in elections is tending to decrease, according to the head of the West Java Elections Commission (KPUD).

Ferry Kurnia Rizkiansyah said that a decrease in turnout during the latest elections was found in seven regions, with Depok suffering the biggest decrease. The Depok mayoral election in 2010 recorded only 54.14 percent of eligible voters casting their vote, far lower than the 71.2 percent recorded in 2005.

Ferry made his comments on the sidelines of a workshop to devise strategies to increase turnout during elections. The workshop on Thursday was attended by KPUD representatives from 26 regions in West Java.

The West Java KPUD expects 33.5 million eligible voters – up from 30 million in 2009 – for the 2013 gubernatorial election, which will take place along with four other elections, namely in Sumedang regency, West Barat regency, Sukabumi municipality and Cirebon municipality. It was decided to hold all five elections together to save operational costs.