The General Elections Commission (KPU) has blamed many of the problems that occurred during April’s legislative election, including voter list fraud and the low poll turnout, on voters themselves, claiming the public was generally unaware of the significance of the ballot.

Speaking at a hearing with the ad hoc committee on home affairs at the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) on Tuesday, KPU Chief Abdul Hafiz Anshary said the Constitutional Court’s decision to enforce the majority vote system encouraged unethical behavior and widespread election violations.

He further suggested that poll workers were overworked and underpaid, which may have led to

errors throughout the election process.

“The KPU admits it made several mistakes during the 2009 legislative election, but public understanding of the importance of the general elections was very low,” he said.

Regarding the much-criticized voter list, he said the public were unaware of how to register officially with poll workers and bodies in regencies and municipalities as recommended by the 2008 general election law. If similar mistakes are to be avoided in the upcoming presidential election, he said, voters should be proactive and register themselves at subdistrict offices nationwide.

The polling body has been under fire following the emergence of millions of unregistered voters and for its failure to conduct an intensive information campaign about the elections and its procedure. Data has shown that of the 171.4 million registered voters, 30 percent did not turn out on the day and 10 percent of votes cast were invalid.

Many who contested the elections, especially small parties, have alleged that low turnout numbers and the high number of invalid votes are indicators of systemic, widespread poll manipulation to which the KPU should be held responsible.

Almost 40 legislators from various political parties proposed Tuesday that a political investigation be held into allegations of electoral fraud, particularly surrounding the millions of unregistered citizens who could not cast their vote and partake in the democratic ballot.

Hafiz said other problems in the election included the slow vote count at subdistrict and district levels, money politics and the intimidation of polling staff by regional heads doubling as party functionaries.

Asked about the reasons behind the low voter turnout, Hafiz said the polling body lacked sufficient time to promote public awareness of the election or convey that its outcome was important for enacting change in the next five years.

“We only had three months to promote the election, organize competing parties and their legislative candidates, count the votes and distribute the seats at all levels,” he said.

The majority of poll workers performed poorly during the verification process of the temporary voter lists partly because they were only paid Rp 1 million per month.

Bizarrely, many deceased persons or citizens who had moved from their area were registered on the voting list while millions of eligible voters were not. (hdt/fmb)

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