Sleepy Euro fans stumble to polls<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Euro 2004 final, including its celebration, ended less
\nthan three hours before the official start of voting at the
\ncountry's nearly 600,000 polling stations at 7.a.m. Many voters
\nand committee members of the polling stations did not want to
\nmiss the soccer final, broadcast live by a private TV station.<\/p>\n
Sleepy committee members of polling station No. 002 in
\nSukabumi Utara subdistrict, West Jakarta, had to open the polling
\nstation on time as required by the General Elections Committee
\n(KPU).<\/p>\n
\"When we opened the polling station at 7 a.m., only 10 or so
\npeople came. Perhaps, many of them watched the soccer game last
\nnight,\" said Djazuli, a committee member at the polling station.<\/p>\n
He said there were 285 eligible voters registered at the
\npolling station, but by the time the polling station close at 1
\np.m., only 229 people had exercised their right.<\/p>\n
\"We are really sleepy but it is our obligation to serve
\nvoters,\" Djazuli told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Two meters from the polling station, a middle-aged woman sold
\nfruit cocktails, coffee and cakes. Voters, most of them
\nneighbors, bought her food. They chatted, and some of them
\nboasted that their favorite candidate would win at the station.<\/p>\n
For many Jakartans such a get-together was a luxury, because
\nthey could converse with their neighbors, many of whom they had
\nnot spoken with for a long time because of their busy schedules.<\/p>\n
When voting was closed at 1 p.m., the counting process
\nstarted. Many looked disappointed when 64 ballot papers were
\ndeclared invalid because they had not been unfolded fully when
\nvoters pierced them.<\/p>\n
In the polling station, Amien Rais-Siswono Yudohusodo garnered
\nthe most votes with 91, followed by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-
\nJusuf Kalla 40, Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi 19, Hamzah
\nHaz-Agum Gumelar 8, and Wiranto-Solahuddin Wahid 7.<\/p>\n
\"If they had pieced the ballot paper properly, I've no doubt
\nthat SBY (Susilo) would have won here,\" Maryati, a strong
\nsupporter of Susilo, complained.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sleepy-euro-fans-stumble-to-polls-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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