Election commission gears up for runoff
Election commission gears up for runoff
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta
As the July 5 presidential poll is unlikely to produce an
outright winner, the General Elections Commission (KPU) is
readying itself for a runoff on Sept. 20.
KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said on Wednesday that
despite the short interval between July 26, when the commission
will announce the top two winners of the July 5 poll, and Sept.
20 when the runoff will take place, he was confident that all
provisions for the runoff could be put into place.
"We have finished designing the ballot sheet and right after
the results of the July 5 election are announced, we will deliver
them to the contracted printing firms," Ramlan told reporters
here.
He also said that the commission was now devising a new method
for voter reregistration. "Possibly, we will only record eligible
voters based on information at hand that he or she will be 17
years of age by Sept. 20," he said.
Ramlan also said that the KPU had proposed a budget for the
runoff of Rp 500 billion (US$55 million) to the House of
Representatives Commission II on state budget and were waiting
for the go-ahead to disburse the fund.
He said that a large proportion of the fund, probably around
Rp 200 billion, would be allotted for the salaries of poll
organizers.
"The remaining amount would be used for printing ballot sheets
and construction of polling stations nationwide," he said.
However, KPU's projection could crumble if candidates who lost
in the July 5 election filed an electoral objection with the
Constitutional Court. "If the Court gave the maximum 14 days to
hear all the disputes, the cases would be wrapped up by August
13. Only then could we start printing the ballot sheets and we
would have problems making the deadline," Ramlan said.
Over 155 million people were registered as eligible voters in
the July 5 poll. The voters cast their ballots in 581,393 polling
stations throughout the country.
The commission used Rp 3 trillion for organizing both the
April legislative election and the July 5 presidential election.
Earlier, the KPU said that it would need an additional fund of Rp
410 billion.
Contacted separately, KPU member Hamid Awaluddin said that the
two candidates who enter the runoff would not be permitted to
hold an outdoor rally during the three-day campaign period
between Sept. 14 and Sept. 16.
"The time is just too short for holding outdoor rallies.
However, to compensate, the KPU plans to allow them more media
exposure," Hamid said.
He said the candidates would be given more freedom to run ads
in the media. "The frequency and the duration of the permitted
ads will be raised," He said.
Hamid said that campaigning in the media would be more
effective to woo prospective voters.
"What's the use of hoisting banners bearing the candidate's
pictures if they are taken down a day later," he said.