KPU 'retires' tallying center in accordance with 10-day contract

KPU 'retires' tallying center in accordance with 10-day contract

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) officially shut down on Thursday its electronic tallying center, which provided provisional results of the July 5 election to media and observers.

The center was closed in accordance with its 10-day operational contract.

At the time of its closure, the giant screen installed in the main room of the center showed that over 104 million votes had been counted, or 67.62 percent of the expected 155 million votes. The result covered 501,148 polling stations, or 87 percent of the 574,945 polling stations erected for the election.

The commission pledged to reopen the center for the Sept. 20 run-off.

KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin said during the closing ceremony that, despite some opposition, the commission would operate the center for the run-off in response to those groups that supported the electronic tallying center.

"I am sure all of us would be opposed to not having the data center. Its absence would cause disquiet among the public, as (otherwise) we wouldn't be able to provide any indications as to the polls until the announcement of the final result," he said.

However, Nazaruddin said the KPU would not invest so much time and effort in running the center for the run-off as it had in the legislative and the first-round presidential elections.

"If the public doesn't demand it, that's fine -- we won't set up a new data center. Besides, our budget is tight for the run- off," he said.

Nazaruddin said the electronic tallying system performed better for the July 5 election than in April.

While the center had been closed, data inputters employed by the KPU will continue to upload current results calculated manually from polling stations across the country.

Nazaruddin said people could still access real-time counts on http://tnp.kpu.go.id// and on TV, which would continue to air updated data from the KPU.

The commission is set to announce the final result on July 26.

Although Nazaruddin was expected to deliver a statement evaluating the use of information technology in the elections, the event organizer had not included a press conference as part of the closing ceremony.

The electronic tallying center was funded in part by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and set up by a local public relations company.

Apart from displaying provisional polling results, the center also hosted a series of discussions on the direct presidential election and related issues.

Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda attended the ceremony on behalf of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.