Voters file suit against KPU

Voters file suit against KPU

JAKARTA: A group of people claiming to represent voters in
several cities has filed a class action suit against the General
Elections Commission (KPU) for its poor performance that
prevented them from exercising their right to vote.

The people, calling themselves the Election Advocacy Team,
demanded Rp 1 trillion (US$117.647 million) in nonmaterial
damages for being prevented from exercising their right to vote
in the April 5 general election.

They filed the lawsuit with the Central Jakarta District Court
on Tuesday.

The team said they were representing rejected voters in
Jakarta, the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh, the South Kalimantan
capital of Banjarmasin, the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar,
the East Nusa Tenggara capital of Kupang and the Papua capital of
Jayapura.

The plaintiffs said that they had actively tried to register
themselves as voters, but to no avail. It was unclear why they
did not receive voter cards.

The legal representative of the team Carrel Ticualu said the
KPU was responsible for registering voters in accordance with Law
No. 12/2003 on elections.

Unable to vote, his clients felt they had lost their right as
citizens, said Ticualu. Aside from nonmaterial damages, the
plaintiffs also demanded that the KPU publish an apology in the
media. -- Antara