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Presidential campaign teams allege foul play in Sirekap tech chaos
The KPU is scheduled to announce the results of the Feb. 14 general election on March 20.
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Almost there: The Surabaya office of the General Elections Commission (KPUD) holds a plenary meeting on March 3, 2024, to finish tabulating ballots cast by voters in the East Java capital in the 2024 general election. (Antara/Ananto Pradana)
The campaign teams of two 2024 presidential candidates have protested the recent decision of the General Elections Commission (KPU) to stop displaying the preliminary vote tally and associated infographics online, saying it will harm election monitoring efforts and could increase the likelihood of foul play in the official manual count.
Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar campaign team head Sudirman Said said the removal of the vote count display on the poll body’s official vote tally portal Sirekap indicated irregularities in the electoral process and that “influential people or parties” might have played a role in the rampant inaccuracies that led to the KPU’s decision.
"If we cannot see [Sirekap’s display], then something is being hidden behind it," said Sudirman on Wednesday.
"This is one proof of many irregularities. The display was just a front line, a face, but behind it, there are machines, systems, people, actions and policies," he added.
Chico Hakim, a spokesperson for the Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD national campaign team, also commented on the latest change to Sirekap, specifically the missing tabulation chart.
He believed Sirekap had too many gimmicks, leading to multiple controversies and problems. He even suggested that Sirekap might have been used to manipulate the election results.
"Sirekap has so many problems. This is concerning, especially regarding the result of vote count for this year's general election," said Chico on Wednesday.
"So was Sirekap made to lie or to facilitate fraud? This question remains,” he added.
On Tuesday evening, Sirekap’s preliminary vote tally chart was removed.
Now, the website only displays photos of the manual C1 vote tally forms, which each contain a local vote count from a polling station.
Experts have warned that the missing tabulation on the website could diminish public trust in the vote count and trigger speculation that the official count will be manipulated, given the decreased public oversight. Only representatives of candidates and political parties are allowed to be present during the manual tabulation process.
The KPU is scheduled to announce the results of the Feb. 14 general election on March 20.
