No votes lost

The tentative voters list for next year's general election has been announced at subdistrict offices and other strategic locations. As has been reported, in a number of regions many citizens who are eligible to vote have not been registered for a number of reasons. These range from errors in procedure, as was admitted by the Armed Forces' chief of sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, miscommunication, absence of those to be registered, or "other reasons".

As a consequence of this neglect to register thousands of people, particularly students at Islamic pesantren religious schools, many people worried to the point of suspecting there were certain distinct motives behind the oversight.

However, the government made it clear long ago that to miss out on registering during the initial registration campaign does not mean to lose one's right to vote. It is expected that after the announcement of the tentative voters list, people will act to confirm whether or not they have been registered. Those whose names are not on the list can and should immediately contact the voters registration committee, which will conduct a second registration campaign from June 21 to July 5.

We naturally hope that all the necessary processes and procedures will be carried out properly and that nobody is overlooked. The general election is a national effort performed at considerable cost in terms of money, energy and deliberation. It would be a pity if this effort should become tarnished because people's voting rights are not respected accordingly.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta