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