Late counting hinders parties' vote estimates<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Political parties have experienced difficulties
\ncollecting returns from provinces and regencies across the
\ncountry because of poor communication facilities and late ballot
\ncounting.<\/p>\n
They are racing against time, collecting their own information
\non poll results, as opposed to data fed to the General Elections
\nCommittee (KPU), in a bid to minimize poll rigging.<\/p>\n
Party officials said on Tuesday the main problems were a lack
\nof telephone lines and late ballot counting. Many polling
\nofficials reported that they had finished counting votes early
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Retur Kaligis of the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan) said as of Tuesday, the party had received
\nreturns from North Sumatra, Jakarta, Central Java and Aceh.<\/p>\n
Another staffer said as of 7:15 p.m. the party had an average
\nof 80 percent of votes in Bali regencies, 50 percent in Jambi and
\nover 40 percent in Central Java.<\/p>\n
Kaligis said the information was received from party
\nprovincial and regency branches officials faxing or phoning in
\nresults to the party's ballot-counting office in the Wisma
\nPerjuangan building in Pecenongan, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Data is fed into the computer by seven people here. We are
\nplanning to go online soon, but I can't tell exactly when,\"
\nKaligis said.<\/p>\n
Dwita, another PDI Perjuangan official in charge of collecting
\npoll information from the provinces, said the party wanted to see
\nall data cross-checked by the party's two committees before
\nmaking any public announcements.<\/p>\n
She said she did not expect to obtain a complete report from
\nGreater Jakarta until Wednesday or Thursday, because in some
\nplaces ballot counting had not been completed until late Monday.<\/p>\n
\"There are many problems: no ballot cards, no ballot
\nholograms, no ink ... the list goes on.\"<\/p>\n
Eki Indra Wahyudi, a staff member at the National Mandate
\nParty (PAN) ballot-counting center, which has a 24-hour online
\ncommunication system with provincial representatives nationwide,
\nsaid he was yet to receive vote results.<\/p>\n
\"We're also confused. We heard that we won in Padang, West
\nSumatra, but we haven't got any figures yet,\" Eki said Tuesday
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
Didiek, a National Awakening Party (PKB) official in charge of
\nstatistical affairs said his party had only received data from 10
\npolling stations in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped to receive detailed reports from across the
\ncountry in five days.<\/p>\n
\"We have been checking for results since 11:30 p.m. on Monday
\nwith PKB provincial and regency branches ... staff members said
\nthat counting would take a very long time,\" Didiek said from his
\noffice which boasted two telephone\/fax lines.<\/p>\n
A Golkar Party official, Hansigar, was the only party
\nrepresentative with a success story.<\/p>\n
By 10:22 p.m. Golkar's monitoring revealed national results of
\n2,955,195 votes for PDI Perjuangan and 2,325,146 votes for
\nGolkar, followed by PPP with 688,818 votes and PAN with 492,014.<\/p>\n
He said the party's ballot-counting team, comprising more than
\n10 people, were receiving updates every half-hour from 20
\nprovinces, with each provincial and regency office possessing at
\nleast one telephone line.<\/p>\n
He said provincial branches which had not filed reports were
\nJakarta, North Sumatra, Central Sulawesi, Bengkulu and East
\nTimor. \"We are not using state facilities. All the telephone
\nlines were installed in early May and will be cut off after two
\nmonths.\"<\/p>\n
Dento, a systems analyst at the multimedia firm Warta Global,
\nsaid the company had set up an online system at 18 terminals here
\nfor data-processing for the Golkar party.<\/p>\n
\"No Internet service provider is used... it's a special line
\nonly for the party,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dento added that the online information was currently
\naccessible only by Golkar provincial executives in Java, Bali and
\nRiau. (ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/late-counting-hinders-parties-vote-estimates-1447893297",
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