Election quick count saves public funds

Election quick count saves public funds

A full-page advertisement in the Oct. 5 edition of a newspaper
has impressed me. It reads: "Quick count by Metro TV & LP3ES.
Fast & accurate, proven three times. Picture: Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia's president-elect for 2004-2009
announced for the first time on Sept. 20, at 4 p.m."

First, it is necessary to make a comparative study of field
applications of management between the Institute for Research and
Development of Economic and Social Sciences (LP3ES) and the
General Elections Commission (KPU).

The study should involve, for instance, the total cost spent
on the process of democratization: The legislative election of
April 5, the first round of the presidential election of July 5
and the election runoff of Sept. 20.

Second, this study should answer, among other things, a basic
question: How much public money can be saved if future general
elections formally involve the quick count by LP3ES?

It means that the system would be applied to all polling
stations in the country, with relevant bureaucratic networks
keeping abreast of the quick and accurate formula as demanded by
the era of reform.

SUNGKOWO SOKAWERA, Bandung, West Java