Indonesians overseas to vote only for DPR

Indonesians overseas to vote only for DPR

JAKARTA: The General Elections Commission (KPU) says some two
million Indonesians living overseas will lose their right to vote
for legislators at the provincial and regental level next year
due to technical reasons.

"Indonesians living overseas will only be able to elect
legislators at the national level. Their votes, equal to five
seats, will be given to Jakarta," KPU member Valina Singka
Subakti said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the first meeting
of regional KPUs.

There were only around 900,000 Indonesian overseas voters in
the 1999 elections.

"Such a high number of overseas voters is caused by the
increasing number of Indonesian workers in other countries," she
said.

Valina added that KPU would verify the data on Indonesian
voters living overseas next month.

Indonesia will hold its legislative election on April 5 and
direct presidential election between June and August 2004.

KPU has completed the calculation of eligible voters at home
with over 142 million people eligible to vote in the 2004 general
election.

The figure does not include those living overseas.

So far, KPU has not decided on electoral districts for
legislators at the national level due to problems related to the
establishment of new provinces. --JP