Poll boycott to mark presidential election

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta

Large numbers of spoiled ballots and high levels of absenteeism have characterized all the elections the country has ever organized, with many perceiving this to be a reflection of distrust in the fairness of the polls rather than people's ignorance of politics.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has consistently proclaimed that he will abstain ever since his comeback bid was denied by the General Elections Commission in May, despite the fact that his brother Solahuddin Wahid was picked as the running mate for Golkar Party's presidential candidate, Wiranto.

Nevertheless, the number of people casting spoiled ballots or boycotting elections in the past never reached such a level that it could affect the legitimacy of the polls.

Although recognizing the right not to vote, electoral law criminalizes people who seek to "ask others to boycott a poll" through the use of force.

Activist Sri Bintang Pamungkas is another prominent self- proclaimed poll abstainer.

He said on Friday he would encourage people to support his stance due to the failure of the General Elections Committee (KPU) to organize an election that could ensure the realization of the public's dreams of better government.

"Absenteeism reflects the public's distrust in the presidential candidates and an overall electoral process that has been tainted by corruption. We pledge to fight for justice by boycotting the presidential election," the former House legislator said.

The People's Movement for a New Indonesia (GRIB), which Sri Bintang chairs, filed a civil suit against the KPU in May for its refusal to allow independent candidates to contest the July 5 presidential race.

"I expect the number of poll abstainers will surpass 20 percent of the total number of voters during the presidential election. This is not only because of our movement but also the fact that many people remain confused about their choices," he said.

The KPU has announced that a total of 153,357,307 people have been registered as eligible voters for the July 5 presidential election, up from the 147,106,000 registered for the April 5 legislative elections.

KPU data also revealed that around 23.5 million voters, or almost 16 percent of those registered, did not vote in the legislative elections and nearly 11 million ballots, or 8.8 percent, were classified as spoiled for various reasons.

The number of eligible voters who did not cast ballots was higher than the number of votes gained by Golkar, which finished first in the April election.

Political analyst Syamsuddin Haris predicted that the number of poll abstainers in the upcoming presidential election would not be that significant due to the euphoria surrounding the country's first ever direct presidential election.

"The level of abstention during the upcoming presidential election will not be that huge compared to the legislative elections because many people are enthusiastic and curious about it. They want to feel the first experience of voting directly," said Syamsuddin.

"The public's distrust in political parties does not necessarily mean they will boycott the election, because they will vote for personalities," he said.

He said that more voters would shun the presidential runoff on Sept. 20, mostly disappointed people whose presidential candidates were ejected during the first round.