49 million eligible voters remain unregistered

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 07/01/2009 1:07 PM  |  Presidential Election

As many as 49 million citizens eligible to vote in the July 8 presidential election remain unregistered, according to a member of the House of Representatives' special committee investigating electoral roll fraud.

“The unregistered voters are spread across regions such as Papua and Sulawesi," Eva Kusuma Sundari from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Wednesday. "In Papua, we also found a lot of fictitious voters on this list."

She said the findings prove that the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Home Ministry have not done enough to verify electoral rolls.

"The quality of the presidential election electoral roll will not be better than that it was in the legislative elections,” she added.

Electoral roll fraud has allegedly robbed some 40 million eligible voter of their right to vote in the April 9 legislative elections.

The Home Ministry and KPU, which are responsible for managing the list, have blamed one to another for the fiasco.

Eva, however, said it would be difficult to complete the investigation before the House’s recess, which will run from July 3 to mid-August.

“We will continue the probe after the recess," she said. "We will summon witnesses, local bureaucrats and the Home Ministry, along with the KPU in the first week after the recess period.” (hdt)

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