Exhausted committee members wrap up recount
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta
Martono was burned out by Tuesday afternoon, but he and two other members of the Kebon Kosong Subdistrict Polling Committee (PPS) in Central Jakarta continued reopening dozens of ballot boxes for a recount.
A KPU instruction on what constituted valid votes that came only after ballots had been counted in many polling stations, prompted a recount of not only the previously invalid votes, but also all votes in cases where witnesses representating contesting candidates made such a demand.
On election day, July 5, Martono and company had started work at 7 a.m., supervising 82 polling stations in the subdistrict. They were still groggy from watching the Euro 2004 soccer final between eventual champion Greece and host Portugal, which had finished around 4 a.m.
While local voting proceeded without a hitch, a last-minute amendment from the General Elections Commission (KPU) on the validity of ballots with double-punctures had prompted a recount across the country. However, many polling stations received notice of the amended decree after the preliminary count had been completed.
In Kebon Kosong, the PPS members had to recount over 17,000 ballots, which they undertook from 9 p.m. on Monday to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, when they took a break to catch a few winks. At 12 p.m., they began recounting again.
"Thank God, we finally finished recounting the ballots at 4:30 p.m.," Martono said. He looked happy, although he had some forms to complete for submission to the Kemayoran district office.
Meanwhile, in Rawa Sari, also in Central Jakarta, the polling committee and monitors agreed to recount only those ballot boxes found to have more than five invalid ballots each.
Martono said he had no idea whether he would receive any overtime pay for the recount.
"The most important thing is that we fulfill our tasks, which is our responsibility. I'll be happy if the job can get done as soon as possible."
Chairman of Jakarta Provincial General Elections Commission (KPUD) Muhamad Taufik estimated that nearly 30 percent of 26,910 ballot boxes at subdistrict levels had to be reopened to recount the ballots of 6.87 million eligible voters in the city.
Another member of KPUD Jakarta, Muflizar, estimated the recount had cost Rp 1 billion (US$110,497) in extra funds to pay for PPS members' per diem and meals.
He added the recount started simultaneously on Monday at 9 p.m. in 267 subdistricts citywide.
The KPUD Jakarta had to delay its announcement of the vote tally as a result, although Taufik had previously estimated that the final count would be announced within six hours after counting was complete at each polling station.
He said the final tally of the recount would be announced on Wednesday.
I-box Provisional tally in Jakarta (as of 9:20 p.m.)
.TB1.20" 2.30" 3.40" 4.50" 5.70" 7.00" .RM 8.00"
Wiranto/ Megawati/ Amien/ Susilo/ Hamzah/ Total
Solahuddin Hasyim Siswono Kalla Agum
W. Jakarta 43,332 139,315 98,202 191,550 9,722 482,121
(8.99%) (28.90%) (20.37%) (39.73%) (2.02%) (100%)
N. Jakarta 50,878 154,610 96,278 209,414 8,901 520,081
(9.78%) (29.73%) (18.51%) (40.27%) (1.71%) (100%)
C. Jakarta 42,777 116,318 136,995 161,657 10,407 468,154
(9.14%) (24.85%) (29.26%) (34.53%) (2.22%) (100%)
E. Jakarta 105,612 190,798 312,718 392,479 26,415 1,028,022
(10.27%) (18.56%) (30.42%) (38.18%) (2.57%) (100%)
S. Jakarta 83,355 153,740 325,371 327,820 25,139 915,425
(9.11%) (16.79%) (35.54%) (35.81%) (2.75%) (100%)
Thousand 2,677 4,123 2,397 2,946 364 12,507 Islands (21.40%) (32.97%) (19.17%) (23.55%) (2.91%) (100%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 328,631 758,904 971,961 1,285,866 80,948 3,426,310
(9.59%) (22.15%) (28.37%) (37.53%) (2.36%) (100%)
Source: Jakarta General Elections Committee