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Guest Speaker's Forum: KPU blames overdue voter list on late budget
The General Elections Commission (KPU) failed to release a preliminary list of eligible voters Friday, citing a lack of updated data from local poll offices
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SRI NURYANTI: (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
Question: Will the KPU publish its preliminary list of voters and if, so, when?
Answer: According to the (2008) Election Law, the KPU has no obligation to announce the preliminary list of voters. So, we will only make the final list of voters public. Anyone who wants more detailed information on the preliminary list, please check with local election bodies (KPUDs) in the provinces.
What progress has been made in updating the preliminary list?
The process of updating the voter list remains on track. We work according to the law. We have a special committee dedicated to updating the list at the village level. Each member of the committee is responsible for verifying data on 500 voters in the field.
I've been sending them short message services (SMS) to monitor their work. I have also talked to local election bodies (KPUD) across the country to make sure they began making the temporary voter lists public on August 8. Most of them replied the lists have been made public. Some of the KPUDs even admitted the announcement was made a day ahead of schedule (Friday). That really affects me. I appreciate that they've made progress despite the problems they've faced. They're committed to their work and are following the law to make sure the upcoming elections are a success.
I believe that over 80 percent of KPUDs have published their temporary lists of voters.
Could you describe the problems facing the KPU and its voter updating committee in the field?
The most crucial problem was a lack of funds. It was too little too late. We received a disbursement from the government on June 25, around three months after our initial proposal.
The law requires us to establish election infrastructure, including a committee to update lists of voters at the village level, but we couldn't meet the deadline with the budget we had.
The late funds hampered the updating committee's work on the temporary lists. We can't ask them to work without funds. We have to pay them, don't we?
The idea is that funds are allocated according to KPU schedules, but our bureaucracy was saying something different.
Geographic conditions are also to blame for the delay in announcing voter lists. It's beyond our authority to manage this process.
How accurate are the data in the preliminary lists of voters announced in several areas?
I hope that all the data are valid. The preliminary lists of voters are supposed to come from the government's updated data, but I still need to check it.
Frankly speaking, the KPU has received some complaints from the KPUDs and the verifying team in the field concerning the quality of the government's data. We have tried to assure them the KPU is only an end-user of government data.
Based on the government data, I predict there will be around 174 million eligible voters. However, we need to verify that with data from the KPUDs.
The public also plays an important role in ensuring the accuracy of the voter lists. They have to be proactive about checking whether their names are on the list. If they don't find their names, they should report it as soon as possible to the verifying committee or village heads. We give the public enough time to check the voter lists because we want to accommodate their right to vote.
We also urge all stakeholders involved in the elections, including political parties, to participate in improving the preliminary list of voters. To that end, we will give a soft copy of the list to each political party so they can recheck their respective constituents' data.
Is there any plan to extend the voter registration period?
It's not a matter of whether to extend the registration period or not. We have to work according to the law. The KPU can't change the schedules at will. We need to have a broader discussion on this.
It's the same as changing the legislative election date from April 5 to April 9. We made that decision after a lot of consideration, but people still complained about it, as if it was our fault alone.
Many people are worried the preliminary list was compiled from data on the number of voters eligible to vote in the direct elections of local executive heads. What do you say to that?
The preliminary list of voters should come from the government's updated data, not from voter data from regional elections.
The voter data from regional elections should only be used to update the list of eligible voters for the 2009 elections. They can also use data from the Central Statistics Agency, or other censuses, for comparison -- to make the election data more accurate. However, all regions must help update the government's data.
We don't want to blame each another. The KPU is the only end-user of the government's data. People have to understand this issue so that problems with updating data are not seen as the fault of the KPU alone. Many people don't know where the data come from and blame the KPU.
Problems occur in updating the voter list because the government data is not valid.
The list of eligible voters is vital to the upcoming elections. We want to make sure that all eligible voters maintain their right to vote and have the opportunity to cast their ballots.
I don't agree with the statements made by some politicians and community leaders who have called for voter absenteeism in the upcoming elections. People have the right to vote. We agree that elections are a mechanism for building democracy in our country. So, let's respect them.
