E

leven pollsters have submitted their applications to the General Elections Commission (KPU) in order to be eligible to conduct election-related surveys as well as quick counts.

KPU commissioner Sigit Pamungkas said on Thursday that the commission was currently reviewing documents submitted by the pollsters.

Sigit said the pollsters that had registered were PT Lingkaran Survei Kebijakan Publik, PT Citra Komunikasi LSI, PT Konsultan Citra Indonesia, Media Survei Nasional, PT Citra Publik Indonesia, PT Indikator Politik Indonesia, PT Data LSI, PT Lingkaran Survei Indonesia (LSI), PT Roy Morgan Research, Lembaga Jaringan Isu Publik and PT Cyrus Nusantara.

Names of pollsters deemed eligible to conduct surveys in the 2014 elections will be made public on the KPU's website kpu.go.id.

As for other pollsters that had not submitted their credentials, Sigit said that registration would close 30 days before polling day, especially for those who wanted to conduct quick counts.

'But if they don't want to conduct quick counts, [only surveys], then they can apply shortly before polling day,' he said.

Pollsters operating without a license from the KPU would be subject to legal sanctions, Sigit said.

He said that the sanctions could range from a reprimand to a ban from carrying out work during the election.

Pollsters which have no intention of publishing their results are not obliged to register themselves with the KPU.

Besides pollsters, other institutions including universities and think tanks should also register with the KPU if they plan to conduct election-related surveys with the intention of publishing their findings.

The KPU could also file lawsuits against pollsters or any other institutions that published findings from their surveys or the results of quick counts during the one-week cooling-off period prior to the
polling day.

The KPU requires pollsters to register themselves in order to ensure that they are independent and transparent.

In the application forms, pollsters must disclose their sources of funding to ensure they are not affiliated with political parties or presidential candidates.

Sigit said that the KPU would set up an ethics panel to decide the most appropriate punishment for any pollster that breached the Election Law or code of ethics applied to pollsters.

He called on pollsters to quickly register themselves for their own benefit.

'It is related to their credibility. If they don't comply, then they will forfeit the public's trust,' Sigit said.

'When a pollster is approved by the KPU, then the public will trust the institution and receive legal protection,' he added.