KPU ballot design 'ineffective'

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 10/28/2008 10:26 AM  |  National

The General Elections Commission (KPU) should revert to the old method of "punching" ballots in next year's elections because a series of tryouts testing a "marking" method produced a large number of invalid votes, a poll watchdog says.

The People's Voters Education Network (JPPR) said about 20 percent of 323 respondents had incorrectly marked their ballots during a KPU-conducted tryout in Aceh this month.

"It is a serious warning for the KPU. There is no need to insist on using the marking method in the elections," JPPR chairman Jerry Sumampaw said in Jakarta on Monday.

The KPU conducted tests on the ballot marking system in Aceh, Papua and Sidoarjo (East Java) to develop the "simplest" method for voters.

"Voters in Papua and Sidoarjo also faced similar problems when marking their ballots," Jerry said.

The KPU decided last week to implement the marking system during next year's legislative elections, to be held on Apr. 9.

The KPU said the ballots that had been punched rather than marked in the tryout were still valid.

"Such a policy will confuse voters because during the tryouts, the KPU only provided pens and markers inside polling stations," Jerry said.

Since the 1955 elections, Indonesian voters have indicated choice by punching ballots with a nail.

The 2008 Elections Law says a ballot is considered valid if the voter marks a candidate name, number or a political party logo.

The law stipulates that if a voter marks a party logo, the vote will go to the chosen party and will be pooled to determine the number of legislative seats it secures. But a vote given to a candidate will improve their chances of winning one of their party's legislative seats.

Some 170 million Indonesians are expected to cast their votes next year. They will choose from 11,868 candidates from 38 political parties.

"The trial also showed that many voters preferred to choose parties rather than candidates," Jerry said.

During the tryout in Aceh, 185 voters selected parties, while 91 selected individual candidates.

The JPPR also urged the KPU to improve its ballot design to facilitate voting.

The KPU said it had chosen a "vertical" design that would not include photographs of candidates. The ballots will instead display party symbols and numbers and candidate names.

The JPPR also said the KPK should build enough poll booths to ensure none received more than 250 voters in order to speed up counting.

"If the number of voters reaches 500 in one polling station, the ballot counting will last until midnight," he said.

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