KPU sends new ballot papers

JAKARTA: The General Elections Commission (KPU) has sent 14,000 replacements for ballot papers which were dumped recently in Deli River in North Sumatra.

A KPU official in charge of transportation and delivery, Darwis Gafar, said the new ballot papers were flown to Sumatra on Friday.

A group of children found on May 22 bags of spoiled ballots supposed to be delivered to Tanah Karo regency. Darwis said the ballots were stolen by people who thought food or other valuable things were in the bags.

Darwis said KPU had a reserve stock of 51 million ballots, apart from the 430 million sheets already dispatched across the archipelago.

He said KPU was still verifying reports of faulty ballots in other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the head of the Central Java provincial election committee, Hadi Pranoto, said tens of thousands of ballots delivered to Demak, Rembang and Banyumas were spoiled.

He said punctures were found in many of the faulty ballots, while others were either blurred or had no pictures. (har)