Historic elections go off without a hitch in Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite minor disruptions in the voting process in some parts of
\nJakarta, the eagerly-awaited legislative election in the capital
\nended peacefully on Monday.<\/p>\n
A short burst of heavy downpours, a few heated arguments over
\ninexcusable mistakes by the organizers and a number of evictees
\nwho were denied their voting rights blemished the elections for
\nsome, which have already been called the country's most
\ndemocratic ever.<\/p>\n
Despite the slight disruptions, almost nothing was going to
\nstop the nearly 6.5 million eligible voters from doing their
\ncivic duty at a total of 24,017 polling stations across Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara, after
\nconducting a series of inspections in some areas, concluded that
\nelection day in Greater Jakarta had gone swimmingly.<\/p>\n
"It was peaceful and safe, let's hope it stays that way in the
\nfuture," Makbul said.<\/p>\n
Despite the positive news from the majority of polling
\nstations, station number 054 in West Jakarta experienced some
\nserious problems, as dozens of residents of the Puri Indah
\nestates were enraged by a major polling staff error.<\/p>\n
One and a half hour after the voting commenced, one man
\nrealized that they had been voting on ballot papers designated
\nfor the East Jakarta electoral district.<\/p>\n
After a heated debate, the balloting was halted for about an
\nhour, while the poll committee members quickly replaced 10 wrong
\npapers with the correct ballot papers taken from a nearby
\nsubdistrict office.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in some areas in South Jakarta and Central Jakarta,
\nthe voting and ballot-counting processes were delayed for about
\n90 minutes due to heavy downpours.<\/p>\n
In Manggarai, particularly Pasar Rumput, Sawah Lunto,
\nMinangkabau and Menteng Wadas subdistricts, dozens of polling
\nstations were quickly evacuated as the rain pounded down.<\/p>\n
The rain forced the local committee to temporarily close down
\ntwo polling stations in Pasar Rumput. "We had to do that so as
\nnot to damage the ballot papers we had already collected," said
\nA. Hudaya, a Provincial Election Commission (KPUD) official.<\/p>\n
Once the rain stopped, however, the people were quick to
\nreturn.<\/p>\n
In Cengkareng Timur subdistrict in West Jakarta, hundreds of
\nevictees who had previously called Kampung Baru home, could only
\nsit on the grass and watch, as officials from the five polling
\nstations there did not allow them to vote, as none of them were
\nproperly registered with valid addresses.<\/p>\n
Warniti, 33, said that a few weeks after officials from
\nCentral Statistics Agency (BPS) registered the families, the
\nJakarta administration's bulldozers razed their homes.<\/p>\n
"No further registration was held afterwards and now I can't
\nvote for anybody that will provide a home and job for me," said
\nWarniti, a mother of two.<\/p>\n
In Glodok subdistrict, West Jakarta, thousands of Chinese-
\nIndonesian citizens turned up to enthusiastically cast their
\nvotes, despite the 90-minute downpour.<\/p>\n
"We want to show those people who say that we don't care about
\nanything but business and profits, that we have patriotic hearts,
\nand we'll exercise our right to vote," said A Liong, 35, a shop
\nowner at Mangga Dua Plaza.<\/p>\n
Another voter, Koko, 65, said he was initially confused by the
\nnumber of parties, but he did have a good idea about two or three
\nof them.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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