Struggling to Get to Polling Stations for a Blank Vote
Organizers count regional election votes in Tlogo Ayu village, Gabus district, Pati regency, Central Java, Wednesday (15/2). In this region, the election was contested by the sole pair of Hariyanto-Saiful Arifin against an empty box.
The phenomenon of blank boxes in elections fielding just a single candidate was a part of Indonesia’s democracy in this year’s simultaneous regional elections. People are coming to polling stations to choose the blank box in the hope of a better future.
La Ritau, 87, struggled to walk to Polling Station 4, 200 meters away from her home, in Pasar Wajo subdistrict, Pasar Wajo district, Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, on Wednesday (15/2/2017). Her left leg shook every time she moved. The shaking remains even with a bamboo cane supporting her leg.
As she could not hold the ballot paper, she asked for help. A polling station official then helped her walk to the polling booth, then to the ballot box and the desk where the election ink was put. She then walked on her own out of the polling station at a local school.
“I came here to vote as I received a voting invitation letter. I vote for the future of all the people,” La Ritau said.
She said she had no doubts about casting a vote for the blank box. She had a good reason to do so. “My conscience,” she said through a breaking voice, while thumping her chest with her hand.
Only one ticket participated in the Buton regency election, namely incumbent pair Samsu Umar Abdul Samiun and La Bakry. Umar is currently being detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly bribing former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar.
La Ritau was not alone. At the same polling station, chicken trader La Timbunga, 57, also cast a blank vote. He said he could not accept a corruption suspect as his leader.
The father of five said La Bakry, who will most likely be inaugurated as governor if the pair wins the election, was cut from the same cloth. “I believe the election should have been delayed to enable more candidates to register. It will be easier for the people to make their choices,” he said.
La Ritau and La Timbunga are just two examples of voters with rational arguments behind their votes. However, other voters may not choose to vote for a blank box.
This is what is claimed by the Umar-Bakry campaign team, which said it had obtained 26,000 votes, or 54 percent of the total vote, against 21,000 votes, or 44 percent, for the blank box. The voter list in the Buton regency election has 71,000 names.
Who will be regent?
The fight of a sole candidate against a blank box became a source of public interest. Nevertheless, many are questioning the presence of a blank box on the ballot paper.
“I chose the box with a picture on it. If I choose a blank box, who will be the regent? What I am sure of is that I want a better life for everyone in the village and, hopefully, there will be no more floods,” said Supartini, 59, a resident of Ngastorejo village in Jakenan district, Pati, on Wednesday.
The farmer has had to face inundation in her village for a week after the Juwana River overflowed. Due to her lack of knowledge on the mechanisms of regional elections involving blank boxes, she said she voted for the sole candidate. She did not want to be “led” by an empty box.
On the contrary, Jumiyati, 45, a resident of Sundoluhur in Kayen district, said she felt the region needed new leaders. “I chose the blank box as I hope there will be a new regent bringing change to Pati,” he said.
The choice of a blank box was included on the ballot paper in the Pati election because only one candidate pair was running in the election. Haryanto and Saiful Arifin were supported by eight of the nine political parties with seats on the local legislative council. However, several groups campaigned for the blank box as a form of democracy.
Based on Kompas monitoring up to Wednesday afternoon, despite the blank box’s inability to match the number of votes for Haryanto and Saiful Arifin, its presence had grabbed the attention of locals.
At a number of local polling stations, the blank box option was either neck-and-neck with or gaining more votes than Haryanto and Arifin.
As many locals acknowledged, the presence of a blank box was a new political phenomenon. The blank box is a democratic act for those who do not wish to cast their votes for the available candidates. “The important thing is that I voted. The empty box is a legitimate choice,” said Heri Sambudi, a resident of Growong Lor village in Juwana district.
Separately, in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra, only one candidate participated in the election, namely incumbent mayor and deputy mayor Umar Zunaidi Hasibuan Oki and Doni Siregar.
Public participation was poor as many locals said there was a lack of information on the local election. Local Duma Sihombing said there was a lack of enthusiasm all throughout the election period. Many votes were cast for the blank box but a majority of locals still voted for the incumbent.
Landak deputy regent candidate Heriadi said in West Kalimantan he was optimistic his ticket would secure more than 90 percent of the vote. “We have gone to 13 districts in the campaign period and we’ve explained our work programs, especially in the health and education sectors,” Heriadi said.
Separately, in West Tulang, Bawang regency, Lampung, incumbents Umar Ahmad and Fauzi Hasan have dominated the vote count so far.
A Rakata Institute quick count on Wednesday found that the Umar-Fauzi pair had won 97.66 percent of the vote. Only 2.34 percent of votes were cast for the blank box. Public participation was 89.36 percent.
Inability to vote
Apart from the blank box phenomenon, it was found that 1,600 voters could not cast their votes in the Tolikara regency election in Karubaga, Papua. Officials with the polling station working committee (KPPS) in four polling stations were not present at the polling stations during the voting period.
A report from the Papua elections commission said 28 KPPS officials had neglected their duty to run the polling stations. Locals arrived at the polling stations from 7:00 a.m., Eastern Indonesian Time, and ended up returning to their homes after they could not find any KPPS officials at the polling stations. The three pairs running in the Tolikara regency election are Usman Wanimbo-Dinus Wanimbo, Amos Jikwa-Rebeca Enembe and JhonTabo-Barnabas Wea.
Papua elections commission official Tarwinto said in Manokwari that the commission had instructed the Tolikara elections commission to replace the 28 KPPS officials.
“It is alleged that the 28 individuals are close to a particular candidate and so they deliberately did not man the four polling stations. This is because Karubaga is a base of support for a candidate running against the candidate favored by the 28 officials,” Tarwinto said.
(ESA/VDL/FLO/DIT/WSI/VIO)
