Weather, eruption cause KPUDs to delay elections

The Jakarta Post, Padang/Medan/Kupang

Bad weather and increased volcanic activity have meant voting was delayed in remote villages in Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggarra on Monday.

Regional General Elections Commissions (KPUDs) delayed polls in two villages in West Sumatra and eight villages in North Sumatra as ballot papers and other election materials had not arrived.

Some 2,000 people waited in vain to cast their votes in the villages of Simalegi and Simatalu in North Siberut because bad weather and high seas had prevented delivery on time, West Sumatra KPU official Husni Kamil Mubarak said.

High seas also meant eight villages in North Sumatra's South Nias regency missed out voting on Monday, provincial KPUD chairman Irham Buana Nasution said. Data about the number of voters in the villages in Pulau-Pulau Batu and Hibala was not available at press time.

Irham said the villages were located in remote areas and could only be reached by boat.

"We tried to transport the ballot papers to the location. But the storm has prompted us to delay," he told The Jakarta Post at his office in Medan.

Irham hoped the ballot papers would reach the villages on Tuesday.

General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin said voting in the villages would depend much on the weather.

"We expect the people to cast their votes tomorrow (Tuesday), but if the storm keep preventing us from delivering the ballot papers we have to delay again the voting," Nazaruddin said.

Meanwhile in East Nusa Tenggara, the KPUD delayed the voting in two villages beneath Mount Egon, which were evacuated after volcanic activity on the mountain increased, affecting about 1,000 registered voters.

KPUD official Johanis Depa said his office had assigned a special team to help organize polls in the two villages.

However, a quick evacuation had made it difficult to fix a new date for the election, he said. Some villagers had not brought their ID cards when leaving their homes and local election officials did not bring election materials with them.

Johanis said he was informed that all the election materials had been lost. "The KPU is planning to replace the materials," he said. The committee would also give temporary ID cards to people to allow them to vote.

Security reasons and logistical problems had delayed the voting in hundreds of polling stations in the April 5 legislative election. The delays prompted the government to issue a government regulation in lieu of law to anticipate election delays as a result of logistical problems.

The regulation amended the election law, which says a delay is permissible in the event of riot, natural disaster or security disturbance.

The KPU apologized for the hiccups in its preparations for the election, which was marked by repeated delays in the procurement of election materials.