COMMENTARY: Go and vote, or live to regret it for next five years

Bambang Nurbianto
The Jakarta Post

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Jakarta / Tue, February 14, 2017 / 08:31 am

COMMENTARY: Go and vote, or live to regret it for next five years

The list of voters (DPT) in Pulau Panggang, Thousand Island , Jakarta, Saturday February 4, 2017.17.415 people of the Thousand Island Regency are eligible to vote during the Regional election on,February 15, 2015. (JP/Seto Wardhana.)

Voting is voluntary in Indonesia, but Jakartans and voters from 100 other regions across the country will live to regret it if they stay away from the polling stations on Wednesday. And the nation may be all that poorer because of it. Voters should take their cue from the United States, where millions of citizens are now protesting President Donald Trump’s policies, including the suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, although Indonesia fortunately is not on the list. Many of those outraged at Trump’s policies contributed to his election in November. A voter turnout of 54.6 percent was lower than the 57.1 percent that gave Barack Obama his first victory in 2008. That amounts to more than 110 million Americans who did not cast their votes in November. In Jakarta, more than 7.1 million people are registered to vote on Feb. 15. They can hardly c...