Jakarta Civil Registration Agency ‘to blame’ for voter list fiasco

(Kompas/Iwan Setiyawan)

Biem Benjamin, a local figure who is the running mate for gubernatorial hopeful Faisal Basri, has defended the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) in the uproar over the electoral roll.

In a public discussion on Tuesday, Biem pointed a finger at the Jakarta Civil Registration Agency, describing the agency headed by Purba Hutapea as the main culprit responsible for irregularities in the voters’ list.

"[The criticisms] regarding the problematic voters’ list have been directed solely at the KPU Jakarta, but the matter is actually the responsibility of the Jakarta Civil Registration Agency," said Biem, the son of prominent actor Benyamin Sueb. He and Faisal are independent candidates in the in the July 11 election.

"Ironically, the party most responsible [for the irregularities] so far has maintained silence over the matter," he added.

Biem said he hoped the election for Jakarta's top job would run as scheduled despite the controversy.

He feared that the election might be delayed due to a lawsuit filed by the campaign team of Joko Widodo-Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, which has demanded that the court postpone the election because of the problematic voters’ list.

In the lawsuit filed with the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday, the campaign team claimed that there were at least 130,000 ineligible people among the 6.9 million voters listed by the commission.

Besides the Faisal-Biem pair, another independent candidate is Gen. (ret) Hendardji Soepandji, whose running mate is businessman Ahmad Riza Patria. (sat/mtq)