Voting at 52 polling stations in five regions failed to take place as scheduled on Wednesday, mainly as a result of extreme weather that delayed the arrival of election materials.

A total of 98,259 polling stations had been scheduled to serve 41.2 million voters in the regional elections in 101 provinces, regencies and cities on Wednesday.

However, nine polling stations in the outer areas of Sangihe Islands regency, North Sulawesi, for example, failed to hold voting on Wednesday after strong waves and extreme weather hindered the distribution of materials.

General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah said voting at the stations was rescheduled for Thursday.

“The voting ran smoothly with voter turnout reaching 75 percent,” he said on Thursday.

Extreme weather also hampered voting at 26 polling stations in South Monokwari, West Papua.

A postponement was also caused by reported incompetence among election organizers.

In Karubaga subdistrict, Tolikara, Papua, for example, Polling Station Working Committee (KPPS) members were absent from some polling stations, leaving voters in limbo. Voting at the affected stations was rescheduled for Thursday.

In Wairu, Mappi regency, Papua, residents boycotted the election due to a lack of ballots.

Two polling stations in Buol regency, Central Sulawesi, also canceled voting because ineligible voters from other areas were found to have cast ballots.

In Kalibukbuk village, Buleleng, Bali, an election was repeated because witnesses found that two election officers had cast ballots more than once. A similar incident occurred in Kampar city, Riau, where the KPPS head voted four times.

KPU commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay said the commission deplored such misconduct.

“The problematic officers should be dismissed and should never be recruited again,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) highlighted several issues found during voting day including inaccuracies in the final voter list (DPT), which led to a shortage of ballots at some polling stations in Jakarta and West Sumatra.

Bawaslu commissioner Daniel Zuchron said the KPU had failed to thoroughly educate polling station officials on the mechanism to verify unregistered voters through electronic identity cards.

As an example, the KPU Jakarta misinterpreted the regulation by obliging unregistered voters to bring their family card to vote although it was not required by law. “The KPU should have been alerted to this issue much sooner,” he said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which spearheaded a coalition of political parties supporting incumbent Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat, meanwhile, claimed election organizers had committed violations and had intentionally blocked Ahok-Djarot supporters from voting.

However, reports said many polling stations ran out of ballots.

“We call on the KPU Jakarta and Bawaslu to take action because it was the KPPS that violated people’s constitutional rights,” said PDIP legal and human rights division chairman Trimedya Panjaitan.

A Kompas quick count revealed that Ahok-Djarot secured 42.87 percent of the vote. Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno received 39.76 percent while Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni held 17.37 percent.

-----

Rizal Harahap contributed to this story from Pekanbaru, Riau.