Indonesian KPU Showcases Bali's Election Management to Indian Delegation

The Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU) presented Bali as an example of election management in Indonesia to the Election Commission of India (ECI) during their visit. KPU member Idham Kholik said in Denpasar, Bali, on Friday that the province was chosen as the location for the cross-country study because Bali’s management of every election and regional head election has always been excellent, resulting in no disputes ever being brought before the Constitutional Court. “We took the ECI to the KPU Bali office and explained how the elections and regional elections are conducted, the culture of political participation among Balinese society, and how during the election process, the community always maintains social harmony,” Idham stated. The complete absence of disputes in Bali Province demonstrates that the elections are well-executed, earning praise from the Indian delegation. “The ECI expressed appreciation for how cultural values serve as an ethical foundation for political participation in these elections. They said Indonesians are friendly, Indonesia’s nature is beautiful, and from a democratic perspective, they offered their appreciation,” Idham added. For its part, the Indonesian KPU learned about voting technology known as the electronic voting machine (EVM) from the ECI. The Indian delegation presented the regulations, security aspects, EVM devices, and a simulation. Idham noted that the visitors actually praised Indonesia, highlighting that ballot-paper-based election management allowed 204.8 million voters to complete the process in a single day. In contrast, India, using EVMs, completes its election for 969 million voters over 45 days. “That is what is called a one-day election. So, voting is completed in one day, and they gave extraordinary appreciation because, on average, conducting the vote in India requires up to 45 days,” he explained. Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Denpasar KPU, Dewa Ayu Sekar Anggaraeni, said that during this cross-country study, the KPU took the ECI to visit a successful polling station from the 2024 Election located in Banjar Sembungsari. At the community hall, two polling stations were set up for 500 voters, and the election proceeded smoothly from 07:00 to 13:00 WITA, followed by the recapitulation process. “So, when the delegation asked how the election was conducted at this location, we explained that to gather or signal the residents, in the morning, the traditional leader would strike the ‘kulkul’ as a sign that voting has commenced,” she said.