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KPU denies misrepresenting diaspora, young-voters in voter roll
Election watchdog and critics argue the General Elections Commission (KPU) has miscounted the number of eligible voters living abroad and raise concerns about the lack of e-ID cards among first-time voters.
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The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) building in Central Jakarta is seen in this undated photo. (Wikimedia Commons/musnahterinjak)
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has defended recent criticisms over its registration of diaspora and first-time voters in the national voter roll for next year’s general election.
The commission presented the national voter roll last week, revealing that 204 million Indonesians, including 1.75 million living abroad, are eligible to cast their votes on Feb. 14 of next year.
But the number of overseas voters drew scrutiny, including from the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), and the Labor Party.
Bawaslu member Lolly Suhenty said on Friday that the KPU had to explain the data discrepancies of 2.85 million diaspora voters not included in the official voter roll. Lolly, who was echoed by Labor Party Leader Said Iqbal, said the number was underestimated when compared to data from the Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP2MI).
The BP2MI, a government agency responsible for the protection of migrant workers overseas, estimated in May that 4.4 million Indonesians were working overseas through legal and government-recognized channels. Other estimates put the actual figure as high as nine million, taking illegal migrant workers into account.
“KPU needs to synchronize and cross check its data with other stakeholders,” Lolly said as quoted by kompas.id.
Read also: Gen Z, millennials comprise majority of 2024 voters
