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KPU credibility crumbles amid vote count fiasco
Once considered an important part of the KPU’s commitment to upholding transparency in the vote counting process, the Sirekap application has only courted controversy since its deployment in the Feb. 14 general election.
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District Polling Committee (PPK) officials enter vote counting data into the Tabulation Information System (Sirekap) on Feb. 21, 2024, in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Vote-counting at the district level in Palu uses the Sirekap application despite an instruction from the General Elections Commission (KPU) to suspend the tabulation using the app as the commission synchronizes data in the platform with that of the manual C1 vote tabulation form. (Antara/Basri Marzuki)
The credibility of the General Elections Commission (KPU) is under scrutiny as the projected deadline for announcing the official 2024 election results draws near.
Technical irregularities, which the organizers have struggled to clarify, have raised concerns about the professionalism and transparency of the overall vote tallying process.
Once considered the manifestation of the KPU’s commitment to upholding transparency in the vote counting process, the Tabulation Information System (Sirekap) application has only courted controversy since its deployment in the Feb. 14 general election.
Sirekap collates data from uploaded scans of manual vote tabulation forms known as C1.Hasil forms into a digital representation published on the KPU election website, which allows the public to monitor the proceedings up until organizers announce the final tally by March 20.
However, various political parties, volunteer monitors and even legislative candidates awaiting the official returns have flagged what they deem to be proof of inflated vote numbers and other election irregularities.
Among the cases attracting the scrutiny of watchdogs is the suspiciously high bump in election returns for the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), which gained over 230,000 votes in three days based on Sirekap data on Sunday, despite being a minnow party with limited appeal.
This and other cases appeared to have prompted a KPU decision on Tuesday to take down the chart displaying the preliminary tabulation data entirely, angering politicians, civil society groups and analysts alike, with some from the latter suggesting that public trust in the poll body has eroded.
