KPU execs may be charged for electoral roll errors

JAKARTA: Executives of the General Elections Commission (KPU) could be imprisoned for their failure to prepare the electoral roll, an expert says.

Ongoing investigations into the electoral roll mismanagement by a special committee of the House of Representatives revealed there were around 50 million citizens eligible to vote in the July 8 presidential election have remained unregistered.

The polling body, responsible for establishing a valid electoral roll, said it had done its best and there was nothing more it could do to improve it.

"What we are talking about here is a massive violation of the constitutional right of 50 million citizens. Should such a situation continue, the legitimacy of the presidential election will be undermined and we could potentially face political chaos," law expert Irmanputra Sidin told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Thursday.

"Therefore, the commission's executives must take full responsibility if chaos ensues and should be imprisoned for *potential* failures," he said.

KPU executives had to utilize the remaining seven days before the election to hold crucial meetings with all stakeholders, Irmanputra said.

"They have to resolve this issue as soon as possible. The commission must invite all candidates and they must ask the incumbent to issue another regulation in lieu of law, which will enable the commission to renew the electoral roll again," he said. - JP