Jakarta – Polling stations in various parts of Indonesia reported poor voter turnout in the simultaneous regional elections on Wednesday (15/02).
The General Elections Commission (KPU) in Papua said that while the elections ran smoothly in the 11 districts and cities in the province, voter turnout in Jayapura was particularly low.
"This has become a concern; is it because of a lack of publicity, or did they simply choose not to go to the polling stations?" Papua KPU head Adam Arisoy said on Wednesday.
His statement was echoed by the police, who said there were surprisingly few election-related incidents in the province, possibly due to the low voter turnout.
Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said only a few incidents were reported, such as the theft of ballot boxes by candidates in Puncak Jaya, and allegations of money politics in Mappi and Jayapura districts.
On the western side of the archipelago meanwhile, heavy downpours during most of Wednesday morning discouraged voters in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung, from going to the polls.
"There are many factors that could cause a low voter turnout, but the heavy rain that fell from the morning until noon is probably the main reason," Haidiyati, head of the election committee at Semabung Lama polling station, told Antara news agency.
Haidayati said only 190 of the 323 registered voters showed up on election day. At the polling station in Opas Indah subdistrict, only 182 of the 426 showed up and in Gedung Nasional subdistrict, only 127 out of 276.
At less than 60 percent, voter turnout in Bekasi district, West Java, was 15 percent lower than expected. "The participation rate target of 77.5 percent set by the organizers was hard to achieve," West Java Deputy Governor Deddy Mizwar said.
Deddy said the fact that Wednesday had been declared a public holiday possibly meant that many potential voters decided to engage in leisure activities instead.
"If it's a holiday, their excuse [for not voting] would be that they wanted to relax; if it was not a holiday, their excuse would be that they were too busy with work," he said.
Political consultancy Jaringan Suara Indonesia (JSI) confirmed this assertion, saying that it recorded a voter turnout of only 57.03 percent in Bekasi district. This was ascribed to residents' general lack of interest in the role of district heads.