Preelection apathy<\/p>\n
Posts were mostly inactive on the first of the 33 days
\nreserved for the registration of voters for the June 7 general
\nelection. This phenomenon prevailed not only in many regions, but
\nalso in Jakarta, the capital. In Jakarta, many Indonesians
\nappeared confused and did not know what to do or where to
\nregister.<\/p>\n
If mere confusion were to be the only cause of this apparent
\napathy, there is not much to worry about. Aside from the fact
\nthat there is still time enough to acquaint the public with the
\nregistration procedure, the registrars are on a later date to
\nvisit possible voters and register those who want to vote.<\/p>\n
If, on the other hand, the apparent apathy should be caused by
\nindifference, or by an impression that the general election
\nserves only politicians associated with political parties, then
\nthe matter would be most serious indeed.<\/p>\n
We do not know whether this problem has been discussed by the
\nGeneral Elections Commission, though we know that, according to
\nmedia reports, the public regards the commission as being slow in
\nperforming its duties. The commission seems to be spending most
\nof its time discussing such problems as whether Cabinet ministers
\nshould be allowed to campaign, cars for commission members,
\nsalaries, honorariums for attending conferences and whether
\npolitical parties should be given financial assistance of Rp 1
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
The registration of voters has begun. Although public
\nenthusiasm appeared to be lacking on the first day of
\nregistration, we hope the situation will improve in the coming
\ndays.<\/p>\n
-- Republika, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/preelection-apathy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }