W

ith only one day left before the deadline for the national vote count to be announced, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has not finished the count and its stance on the need for a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to legalize a possible delay, has softened.

As of Thursday, the KPU had only finished wrapping up the vote tally in 22 provinces. It was supposed to tally the votes in some of the other 11 provinces on Thursday, but as of Thursday night, it had not finished any of them.

The vote count plenary hearing for West Java '€” which has 11 electoral districts, the most of all 33 provinces, which typically only have one to two electoral districts '€” has been delayed by questions from parties.

Moreover, KPU commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay said that it was still waiting for officials from North Sulawesi General Elections Commission (KPUD) to present their data, the officials were due to arrive in Jakarta on Thursday night.

Officials from the West Sulawesi KPUD also failed to catch a flight from Mamuju on Thursday, which was why they would arrive early Friday, according to him.

The 11 provinces that have not yet completed the vote tally are Bengkulu, East Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Maluku, North Maluku, North Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, and West Java.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the Home Ministry to draft the Perppu in anticipation of the KPU missing the deadline, which should be completed within 30 days after the election on Friday.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha confirmed that the Home Ministry would prepare the Perppu. '€œThe Perppu will be ready tomorrow [Friday] as the deadline for the vote count is midnight tomorrow,'€ Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said.

After repeatedly saying that the KPU would not need the Perppu since it was optimistic that it would meet the deadline, KPU commissioner Arief Budiman admitted that the commission might need it after all.

'€œIf we can'€™t [meet the deadline], then we will ask [for the President to sign the draft Perppu],'€ he told reporters at the KPU headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta. '€œHowever, as of now, we remain upbeat that we will be finished by tomorrow.'€

Likewise, Gamawan said he was confident the KPU would complete its work on time, saying that the Perppu would only be needed if the KPU requested it.

'€œIt depends on the KPU [and the latest recapitulation developments]. They still have time and we are actively monitoring the progress,'€ he said.

However, KPU commissioner Hadar said that the Perppu may not be effective, saying that such a thing would trigger debate within the public.

'€œWe are worried that the Perppu might be controversial,'€ he said. '€œPeople might discuss whether the [Perppu] is necessary.'€

People'€™s Synergy for Democracy in Indonesia (Sigma) director Said Salahuddin said that the KPU was trying to prevent the public from losing confidence in the commission.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Agustina Tio said that the party would prefer it if the KPU addressed all the problems related to the data in the vote recapitulation forms, which had been found to be riddled with mismatched data caused by administrative errors and vote rigging, even if it meant the commission missed the deadline and would need the Perppu.

'€œNow it all comes down to the courage of the KPU and the President. One option is for the President to issue the Perppu or for the KPU to violate the law for the sake of the greater good,'€ she said.