Residents to vote at sea in Thousand Islands

Officials say they have readied two polling stations – on speedboats - for voters in Thousand Islands regency in advance of Jakarta’s gubernatorial election on Wednesday.

The seaborne ballot boxes are part of 43 polling stations set up to serve the regency’s 16,335 residents on 11 islands in the regency.

“We have prepared two mobile polling stations on speedboats. They will be part of the Panggang Island polling station and the Kelapa Island polling station,” said Thousand Island General Election Commission chief Moch Sidhik said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday.

The election process on the boats would be observed by the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), the Regional Election Organizer Committee (KPPS) and witnesses from the six gubernatorial campaigns, Moch said.

The boat assigned to Kelapa Island would serve 10 nearby islands, while the Panggang Island vessel would serve three islands, he said.

The commission said it had delivered ballots, ballot boxes and election ink, given to voters to prevent double voting, to the regency’s 43 polling stations.

“We sent voter IDs card and invitation letters to all eligible voters in the regency three days ago,” Sidhik said. (riz)