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Landak students help raise awareness on ballots with blank box
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An election official demonstrates how to perforate a ballot paper with an empty box in Pati regency, Central Java, on Jan. 9. Pati is one of 11 regencies and cities across the country that have sole candidates in the upcoming Feb. 15 regional elections. (Antara/Yusuf Nugroho)
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andak General Elections Commission (KPU Landak) in West Kalimantan is partnering with students from Pamane Talino School of Pedagogy and Education in Landak to help raise people’s awareness about sole-ticket elections.
This year, 10 regions, including Landak regency, are set to see candidates run uncontested in the 2017 regional elections, which will be held simultaneously on Feb. 15 in 101 cities, regencies and provinces across Indonesia.
The first time sole candidacies were seen was in the first simultaneous regional elections in 2015.
(Read also: ‘Blank box’ to compete with sole candidates)
KPU Landak head Lomon said many Landak people wrongly believed that a sole candidate would win an election no matter what and that there was no point in voting if their preference was not the sole candidate.
“We have visited students and briefed them about the problems surrounding sole candidacy and asked them to help spread the right information to prevent low voter turnout,” Lomon told The Jakarta Post.
He added that the students were equipped with materials about the election mechanism in regions with sole tickets.
“The most important thing is that people can vote by either perforating the picture of the candidate or the blank box next to it,” Lomon said.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Karolin Margret Natasa, who is the daughter of West Kalimantan Governor Cornelis, and incumbent Deputy Regent Heriyadi are the sole ticket in the Landak regental race.
Should the majority of voters perforate the blank box, the KPU will hold another election. (bbs)
