Disputed electoral roll haunts election

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 07/03/2009 6:18 PM  |  Presidential Election

With only five days until the election, disputes surrounding the validity of the electoral roll for the presidential election have reached “worrying” levels, a lawmaker says.

Sayuti Asyathri from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said Friday that the General Elections Commission (KPU) should allow the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) full access to the electoral roll to ensure its veracity and end the controversy.

A special committee of inquiry at the House of Representatives has found that the KPU still has not registered nearly 50 million voters for the presidential election next week.

Sayuti said the KPU should take into account all the recommendations made by external groups to resolve the issues with the electoral roll.

“This is a serious issue. The commission must give the candidates’ campaign teams a chance to verify not only the electoral roll, but also on the technology being used during the election and the ink for marking ballot papers,” he said.

A member of the House’s special committee, Eva Kusuma Sundari, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said she discovered fake names, along with names registered twice, on the electoral roll issued by the KPU.

KPU member Syamsulbahri said the commission had allowed greater access to both the supervisory body and campaign teams of the candidates.

“We opened our doors a few days ago to the various parties. We have also coordinated with our regional representatives to update the electoral roll. Any names registered twice or that are fake have been removed from the list,” he told The Jakarta Post. (hdt)

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