Upholding the people's suffrage

Upholding the people's suffrage

We are happy because the April 5 legislative election was held successfully despite several shortcomings, such as the late arrival of election materials in certain regions.

Reports said voter participation only reached 70 percent, a 20 percent decrease from the turnout in 1999, while 2.9 million of 145.07 million registered voters were unable to exercise their right to vote on Monday for several reasons.

One such reason is the voters' poor knowledge of candidates. Other cited reasons included damaged ballots and poor distribution of election materials.

It is thus important for the General Elections Commission to follow up in areas that could not hold an election on April 5.

It is our responsibility to help monitor the smooth and safe delivery of poll results from remote regions to Jakarta.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta