Delible ink used in presidential election
Delible ink used in presidential election
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Semarang/Yogyakarta
The use of delible ink marred the presidential election on
Monday, with the General Elections Commission (KPU) vowing to
demand an explanation from the four companies appointed to supply
the poll material.
"The quality of the ink is very poor, it is easy to clean
off," said Yuliastuti in Semarang, showing her left little finger
that no longer had an ink stain.
Voters had their little fingers stained with ink after casting
their vote in a bid to avoid multiple voting.
It took a least one month for the ink used in the April 5
legislative election to wear off.
KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin said that after observing
the low quality of the ink during his tour to Yogyakarta and
Central Java that he would summon the management of PT Printcolor
Indonesia, PT Asgarindo Utama, PT Cipta Tora Utama and PT Benda
Utama, the companies that supplied the ink.
"We have received reports on the delible ink, and this
indicates that the ink provided by the firms is not of good
quality," he said.
Nazaruddin suspected that the ink was mixed with too much
water.
Unlike the ink used in the legislative election, the ink for
the presidential election was locally made.
"In the previous election we imported the ink from India. This
time around we used locally made ink as we wanted to promote
Indonesian products, aside from its lower price," said
Nazaruddin.
One bottle of local ink costs Rp 19,750 (US$2.12), compared to
imported ink costing between Rp 28,750 and Rp 30,275. KPU
allocated Rp 200 billion for the procurement of ink.
Nazaruddin said the commission would impose penalties on the
firms that procured the ink. "The deceitful company will for sure
be blacklisted in the second round of the presidential election,"
he said.
In Jakarta, KPU member Valina Singka Subekti said that prior
to distributing the ink, the commission had tested it in
laboratories belonging to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI).