People come together for fair, safe poll

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dozens of residents of Kelapa Gading Timur, North Jakarta, focused on a whiteboard as members of the polling committee wrote out the results of the ballot count in Monday's presidential election.

A few gasps were heard, and some people could not hide their happiness whenever their candidate received another vote.

Wisnu, a supporter of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, appeared disappointed when his candidate lost to incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri at polling station 073 in Kelapa Gading Timur subdistrict.

"Frankly speaking, I voted for him (Susilo) because I hope he will win the presidency. He looks smarter and stronger. We need a strong man because our society lacks discipline," Wisnu told The Jakarta Post.

The final result showed Megawati winning at that particular polling station with 123 votes, compared to 70 votes for Susilo.

There were about 24,000 polling stations in the city and some 6.7 million eligible voters.

Wisnu consoled himself with the reports on TV that Susilo was winning in most of the regions in eastern Indonesia.

Kelapa Gading district -- consisting of the subdistricts of Kelapa Gading Barat, Kelapa Gading Tengah and Kelapa Gading Timur-- is a large residential area that is home to Indonesians from numerous ethnic groups.

Another resident, Sutrisna, who said he voted for Megawati, was clearly pleased she had won at the polling station, but stressed that the most important thing was that the presidential election took place without violence.

The election -- from the opening of the polls to the ballot counting -- at polling station 073 was problem free and good natured, with many of the voters exchanging jokes as they went about their business.

The head of the polling station, Putu Laksana Oka, said that of the 254 voters registered at the station, 61 did not turn up.

Edwin Trisndai, the head of the local community unit, said there were at least 1,150 eligible voters in the community unit. In the earlier legislative election and the first round of the presidential election, about 80 percent of this number voted.

Like the voters, the election committee members at the polling station came from different ethnic groups, like Chinese, Balinese, Manadonese and Javanese.

There was food and drinks available at the polling station, including coffee and energy drinks for the committee members and witnesses.

"The residents chipped in for the food and beverages. The coffee was sent by one resident," Putu said.

Half an hour before the voting closed, a committee member got on a loudspeaker to invite those people who had not yet voted to come to the polling station and cast their ballots.

"We did the same thing in the two previous elections," Putu added.

The last voter arrived at the polling station 15 minutes before the voting closed at 1 p.m. When the voting was over, more residents, including children, came to witness the ballot count.

"Whoever wins the election, we have proven that we can deal with our differences without becoming involved in conflict," Sutrisna said before walking home.