Legislators propose inquiry into voter list fiasco

The House of Representatives agreed Monday to propose an inquiry to resolve the problems with the voter list that saw millions of eligible voters disenfranchised from April's legislative election.

"We have found some indications that the election violated the 1945 Constitution, resulting in many residents losing their right to vote," House member and spokesperson for the team Hasto Cristianto told journalists at the House of Representatives in Central Jakarta.

Legislators who demanded the inquiry include Gayus Lumbun, Bima Arya, Bambang Nuryanto, Hasto Cristianto from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P); Joseph Pati and Indrawati from the Golkar Party and Zulkifli Halim from the National Mandate Party (PAN).

The legislators have said between 65 and 72 million people failed to vote in the legislative election. Out of this number, 30 million voters were unable to vote because their names were not recorded on the electoral roll.

“The government must be held responsible for this error and should have upheld people’s rights during the election,” Hasto said.

The petitioners, who are mostly members of the PDI-P, will propose the investigation to the House chairman, who will take it to the plenary meeting. (naf)