T

he General Elections Commission (KPU) plans to update the final voter list (DPT) for the 2019 general election in disaster-affected areas in Central Sulawesi in January.

KPU chairman Arief Budiman said the three areas were Palu, Sigi and Donggala. In October, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami shook the province, leaving more than 2,000 dead and more than 4,000 injured. The KPU did not include Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), which was hit by multiple earthquakes in August, in its plans as the DPT for the province had recently been updated.

“The administrations of the three areas asked us to update the DPT in January 2019. We haven’t been able to do so earlier because of the unstable situation following the earthquake in October. In the meantime, they are in the process of returning to normal bureaucratic functions,” Arief said after attending a hearing on the DPT at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Thursday.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that the earthquake and tsunami left 2,113 people dead and 4,612 injured in Palu, Sigi and Donggala. According to 2010 data, Palu had a population of 335,297, Sigi 215,030 and Donggala 277,236.

The BNPB has recorded at least Rp 18.48 trillion (US$1.27 million) in losses caused by the disaster. Damages to private housing made up around half of the total losses, amounting to Rp 9.41 trillion. Severe destruction was reported in the densely populated Petobo subdistrict in South Palu district, which was all but flattened by soil liquefaction. Almost all buildings along Palu Bay were also irreparably damaged.

Meanwhile, in NTB, the agency has also recorded at least Rp 5 trillion in losses after August’s disasters left more than 67,000 houses, 468 schools, 20 office buildings and 15 mosques damaged.

The DPT in Central Sulawesi is expected to be updated following the distribution of new electronic ID (e-ID) cards for the survivors as well as the death certificates of the victims.

Many residents living in Palu, Sigi and Donggala lost their e-ID cards, which they need to be able to vote in April.

“We understand their situation. However, we already had the list before the disaster. We will refer to the old list for the time being. But it needs to be updated,” he said.

Previously, the commission decided to extend the period for the finalization of the DPT by 30 days until Dec. 16, to provide time for regions like Central Sulawesi to update their citizenship data to ensure all eligible voters had access to their rights.

Jakarta, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi and Maluku, have also not yet finalized their DPTs.

At least 187.1 million citizens across the nation are estimated to be eligible to vote in the 2019 elections. KPU data released on Sept. 16 shows that the number of eligible voters had decreased from 187.78 million as of Sept. 5. The total number included 185.08 million voters in Indonesia and 2.04 million who will cast their ballots overseas.

The KPU recently dealt with reports off double data in the preliminary voter list and found that the number of eligible voters in the revised list had decreased by more than 670,000.

The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and the camp of presidential candidate pair Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno previously complained about double data on the voter list.

Bawaslu said it found 2.9 million double-listed voters on the list, while the coalition backing Prabowo’s candidacy claimed that it had found 8.1 million double-listed voters.

Voters will cast their ballots in the presidential election and legislative election on April 17 next year. (ggq)