DPD candidates upbeat over preliminary count
DPD candidates upbeat over preliminary count
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Candidates for the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) in 32
provinces were closely monitoring on Monday the preliminary
results of ballot counting with high hopes that they would get
elected.
According to the existing law, each province will have four
representatives in the DPD, considered to be the Indonesian
version of the United States (U.S.) Senate.
Ballot counting at polling stations across the country showed
DPD candidates that it is not as easy as it seems to secure seats
in the newly introduced legislative body.
DPD candidates for East Java Mahmud Ali Zain and Mujib Imron
led the tally in the preliminary ballot counting on Monday with
377 and 306 votes respectively.
Closely trailing behind them were candidates including Mashuri
(200), Mardjito (188), Imron Djamil (159), Dede Oetomo (151), and
Wasmoro (116). Other candidates got less than 100 votes.
Bambang Soeroso, a DPD candidate for Bengkulu, seemed to have
attracted most support at three polling stations in Bengkulu
municipality.
Several inmates of Bengkulu Penitentiary, however,
acknowledged that they were not informed of the track records of
candidates.
Dianto, who is serving a four-and-a-half-year prison term,
said that exercising his constitutional right was like taking
part in the lottery as he did not recognize any of the
candidates.
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, voters questioned the Makassar
Elections Commission (KPUD) for printing Mirdin Kasim's
photograph on ballot papers, despite the fact that the candidate
had passed away.
A KPUD member said that the printing of the ballot papers had
been underway when Mirdin died.
Aksa Mahmud seemed to gain the most votes in the province as a
preliminary ballot count revealed that he had won 141 votes in
Makassar district.
Aksa, director of PT Bosowa, triumphed other 42 candidates at
five polling stations. He was closely followed by Ishak
Ngeljaratan (67 votes), Benyamin Bura (63), Alwi Hamu (53) and
Ilham Alim Bahri (51).
DPD candidate Nyimas Ena took the lead in the preliminary
ballot counting at a polling station in Kota Baru, Jambi.
Nyimas Ena collected 44 votes and was followed by chairman of
the Jambi chapter of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) Sulaiman
Abdullah (20 votes) and local journalist Muhammad Nasir (19
votes).
Some 21 votes were declared invalid for various reasons.
Muslim cleric Marwan Aidit and expert Laode Ida won the most
votes in the preliminary ballot counting at some polling stations
in Kendari municipality, Southeast Sulawesi.
Marwan and Laode were among 31 candidates contesting the
election from Southeast Sulawesi.
At a polling station in Korumba village, Marwan got 25 percent
of the votes, followed by Laode Ida.
Meanwhile, voters in the regency of Fakfak, Papua, could not
exercise their constitutional right to vote for DPD candidates
due to a shortage of ballot papers.
KPU member Muhamadon said that local voters still awaited the
arrival of the ballot papers.
He added that the condition seriously disturbed the ballot
counting process so that the official vote tally could only be
available in a week.
Meanwhile, voters in Palembang, South Sumatra, showed their
support of the only female DPD candidate Asmawati. Chairman of
Palembang KPU Kemas Khoirul Muchlis said that the preliminary
ballot count was not necessarily indicative of the final outcome.