KPU confident of delivering ballot papers on time
KPU confident of delivering ballot papers on time
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The General Elections Commission (KPU) announced on Friday that
it had printed 92 percent of some 156 million ballot papers for
the second round of the presidential election in September, and
expected to deliver them to polling station committees across the
country by Aug. 27 at the latest.
KPU member Hamid Awaluddin told a press conference on Friday
that most of the papers had been sent to the local KPU branches.
The printing of the ballot papers for provinces in Java was
expected to be completed this week.
"We're confident of delivering the papers before the deadline
so that the local KPU branches can fold them," he told reporters.
The KPU had earlier said it would start distributing ballot
papers on Aug. 25 so that they could reach all of the country's
349 regencies and municipalities by Sept. 5 at the latest.
The country will hold the second leg of the presidential
election on Sept. 20, and, according to the Presidential
Elections Law, ballot papers should have reached the polling
station committees at least ten days before polling day.
More than 153 million people nationwide are eligible to vote
in the runoff, when incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will go up
against her former coordinating minister for political and
security affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is supported by
the Democratic Party, the Crescent Star Party (PBB), and the
Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI).
On Thursday, three parties -- the Golkar Party, the Islam-
based United Development Party and the Christian-orientated
Prosperous Justice Party (PDS) -- pledged their support for
Megawati, who has trailed Susilo in virtually all the public
opinion surveys conducted so far.
Hamid explained that the printing of ballot papers for
provinces outside Java and for polling stations abroad had been
completed. Some local General Elections Commission branches
(KPUD) in Sulawesi, Riau, Kalimantan, Banten, Maluku, Bali,
Sumatra, Papua and Nusa Tenggara had already received their
ballot paper allocations.
The KPU had also shipped some 500,000 ballot papers to
overseas polling stations, he added.
"We also included additional ballot papers amounting to 2.5
percent of the total number of voters registered to cast their
ballots in each polling station," he explained.
Some KPUDs, Hamid said, had asked the commission to send even
more ballot papers in the mistaken belief that each polling
station was supposed to get additional ballot papers amounting to
10 percent of the number of registered voters in each polling
station.
Hamid explained that the central KPU would hold a national
working meeting with KPUD representatives to discuss any problems
the might arise during the runoff.
"We'll explain to them about the ballot papers and give them
other information on the election. This is essential to ensure
transparency and avoid problems involving the ballot papers at
the polling stations," he explained.
Printing firms started printing the ballot papers soon after
the Constitutional Court delivered its decision on the electoral
objections filed by eliminated presidential candidate Gen. (ret)
Wiranto two weeks ago.