KPU picks 'vertical' ballot design

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 09/30/2008 10:18 AM  |  National

The General Elections Commission (KPU) said Monday it will use a "vertical" ballot design that will not include photographs of legislative candidates in the 2009 legislative elections.

The ballots will instead display political party symbols and numbers as well as the names of their legislative candidates contesting the elections, KPU chairman Ansari Abdul Hafiz said.

The KPU made the decision after conducting tests on a number of prototype ballot designs in Papua and East Java, Ansari said.

"This format is final. It is more practical as we will be able to use small polling booths."

He said during the tests, mock voters found it easier to open and unfold the chosen ballot design compared with the "horizontal" ballot design.

The chosen ballot design measures 57 centimeters by 88 cm.

"Residents of Sidoarjo, East Java, complained that they faced difficulties in opening the horizontal ballots in the polling booths," Ansari said.

To cut costs, the KPU will reuse ballot boxes and polling booths used in the 2004 elections.

The KPU said the office would allocate Rp 1.2 trillion (US$129 million) for printing and distributing ballots in the country.

"Both the government and the House of Representatives have also approved the vertical format," he said.

A total of 38 parties will contest the April 2009 legislative elections, which will elect members of the House and the Regional Representative Council.

The 2008 Election Law stipulates that a ballot is considered valid if a voter has indicated with a mark the name of a candidate or a political party.

A vote allocated to a political party will determine how many legislative seats that party secures.

A vote allocated to an individual candidate will be received by the party and increase the candidate's chances of winning a legislative seat.

Critics have said the system will benefit popular parties rather than popular individual candidates as a popular candidate affiliated with an unpopular party may not win a seat.

Many parties have promised to implement an "open" system, where the candidate with the highest number of votes will be first in line to a seat.

Activists and election monitors have called on the KPU to take steps to familiarize the public with the new ballot format.

They have also proposed that the KPU enlarge polling booths to up to 1.5 meters in width to expedite voting.

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