KPU members want poll results recounted

JAKARTA (JP): Amid suspicion of elections fraud and irregularities in the computerized vote count for the June 7 general election, some members of the General Elections Commission (KPU) suggested on Tuesday a nationwide recount of poll results.

KPU chairman Rudini said after chairing the commission's plenary meeting that if the plan was approved, data entry operators would key in vote tabulations recorded on the C1 forms used at some 320,000 polling stations across the country.

"The reentry of poll results will refer to the C1 forms because they are considered more accurate than the D4 forms which compile poll results at the regency level," he said.

"Although it will take more time for data entry processing, the reentry of (the vote count from the) C1 forms is expected to provide more accurate poll results," he said.

Rudini, a former minister of home affairs, said a recapitulation of a regency's poll results from the D4 form should equal the total number of ballots cast at polling stations across the regency.

He said the commission would decide at a plenary meeting on Wednesday whether to continue the vote tally using data from regency-level elections committees or recount ballots from the beginning. Before making the decision, the commission will hear a report from a special team assigned to probe elections violations.

However, General Elections Committee (PPI) chairman Jacob Tobing opposed the plan, saying the KPU would fail to meet the July 8 deadline for announcing and validating elections results.

"The PPI will not have enough time to finish the reentry of poll results before July 8," he said at the KPU secretariat.

He doubted the recount of poll results would be completed before the deadline because the C1 forms were incomplete and the PPI did not have the funds for the data reentry.

As of Tuesday evening, with 35.89 percent of the votes counted, the KPU's preliminary results had the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in front with an estimated 69 seats in the House of Representatives. In second position was Golkar with 34 seats, followed by the National Awakening Party which 32 seats.

In a related development, the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Elections Committee announced on Tuesday it would recount ballots after 25 of the 28 political parties registered in the province refused to endorse the poll results, citing elections fraud.

In Ujungpandang, the South Sulawesi chapter of the Independent Elections Monitoring Committee demanded that the provincial elections committee rehold the polls because numerous complaints of elections violations remained unresolved.

Meanwhile, representatives of political parties registered in Medan failed to approve a vote-sharing agreement. The deadline for such agreements is July 1.

In Jakarta, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said he backed a thorough investigation into alleged corruption in the KPU, but suggested the investigation be conducted after the vote count was completed.

"We'd rather give them (KPU members) the opportunity to finish their task and complete the vote count," he said as quoted by Antara before attending a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council at the Bina Graha presidential office. (imn/29/39/27/49)