Four firms start printing ballot papers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Four print firms have started printing ballot papers for the July 5 presidential election, a General Elections Commission (KPU) member said in the East Java capital, Surabaya, on Sunday.
Chusnul Mari'yah said that the KPU expected the four appointed printing firms -- Temprina Media Grafika, Gramedia, Temprint and Kartika Naya -- could finish the job within 10 days of Sunday as scheduled.
"The ballot paper for the presidential election is less complicated than that for the legislative election," she was quoted by Antara as saying.
Chusnul was speaking on the sidelines of a working meeting of regional KPUs (KPUDs) in Surabaya.
In the April 5 legislative election, delayed printing of ballot papers caused the KPU to delay the election at some 1,000 polling stations across the country.
Chusnul also said that the KPU would recalculate the total number of polling stations in the country as voters were expected to total 152 million for the presidential election, up from 148 million in the legislative election.
"We have received notice of an increase of voters in a number of regions," she said.
Each polling station may accommodate a maximum of 300 registered voters, according to current regulations.
She also called on KPUD officials to ensure the security of other election materials such as ballot boxes and polling booths.
Separately, the five pairs of presidential candidates continued to set up their campaign teams nationwide.
In Padang, four campaign teams -- for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Yusuf Kalla, Amien Rais-Siswono Yudohusodo, Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi and Hamzah Haz-Agum Gumelar respectively -- registered themselves with the West Sumatra regional KPUD.
West Sumatra KPUD member Ardyan, chief of the working committee for the presidential campaign, said only the Susilo- Kalla campaign team had met all requirement set by the KPU.
"The other teams that have not met KPU requirements still have to get a mandate letter from their national campaign teams," he said. The requirement should be completed before the 30-day campaign starts on June 1, otherwise the campaign could be categorized as unlawful.
The Wiranto-Solahuddin Wahid campaign team had not yet registered with the KPUD, he added.
In Yogyakarta, a local campaign team for the Amien-Siswono pairing was established on Sunday, with the local team chief position held by Khoiruddin Bashori.
"We aim to garner 50 percent of the vote in Yogyakarta," Khoiruddin said.
Amien-Siswono campaign teams in Banten and South Kalimantan were also established on Sunday.
In Bandar Lampung, Kalla installed I Nyoman Sukesna as Lampung chief for the Susilo-Kalla campaign team.
Kalla also inaugurated the campaign team for the Susilo-Kalla pairing in Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung, Riau, North Sumatra, Aceh and South Sumatra.
In Malang, East Java, the establishment of a Wiranto Supporter Network (JPW) was declared by Wiranto via his mobile phone as he was in Sidoarjo participating in a mass prayer with his running mate Solahuddin Wahid and the latter's brother, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.
In Jakarta, the first day of campaigning on June 1 will be marked by a parade of the candidates' campaign teams from City Hall to the Semanggi cloverleaf along Jl Thamrin and Jl Sudirman, starting at 8 a.m.