KPU to Intensify Dissemination of Technical Information

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The General Elections Commission (KPU) has said it will intensify its dissemination of information on technical matters for the election to field officers and voters.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Disseminating on information on technical matters and the election may affect voter turnout amid the complexities of the 2019 election. The KPU thus plans to strengthen its dissemination of technical information to field officers and voters in the time remaining to voting day on April 17.

The KPU is targeting a 77.5 percent voter turnout for the 2019 election, an increase from the 75.11 percent voter turnout in 2014. Amid its efforts to improve voter turnout, election organizers and voters face the complexities of election.

Voters will receive five separate ballot papers on voting day for this year’s simultaneous legislative and presidential elections. Sixteen national parties are participating in the election, an increase from 12 national parties in 2014. Voters must thus choose from among a larger pool of candidates.

Furthermore, the voter registration process has been changed this year. For the 2014 election, voters were registered according to their actual domicile. For this year’s election, voters are registered according to the domicile listed on their electronic ID cards (e-IDs; e-KTPs). As a result, some citizens have been registered for electoral areas far from their current domicile. If these individuals do not register as transferee voters, they will not be able to vote, even though their names are on the final voters list (DPT).

Adequate technical knowledge among both voters and election organizers is necessary to understand these complexities.

KPU official Wahyu Setiawan said in Jakarta on Wednesday (4/3/2019) that the KPU was aiming for high voter turnout, as the election was a platform for people to exercise their sovereignty.

Therefore, the KPU would maximize its provision of technical guidance to electoral organizers down to the ad hoc level, such as the polling station working committees (KPPS). This was important to ensure that voters would not have any difficulty exercising their right to vote because of technical issues.

“The information will reach voters. The key is to provide technical guidance for KPPS members. They are responsible for disseminating important technical information ahead of the vote,” said Wahyu.

KPU official Pramono Ubaid Tanthowi said that, furthermore, the KPU would employ creative methods to disseminate information specifically targeting strategic groups. These included first-time voters, youths, women, marginalized communities, religious groups, netizens, families and election volunteers.

Important technical matters

Senior researcher Hadar Nafis Gumay of election watchdog Network for Democracy and Electoral Integrity (Netgrit) said that the KPU should be aware that resolving technical matters would be vital in its efforts to increase voter turnout at the 2019 election. In previous elections, Hadar said, the number of voters who submitted white ballots (blank votes) tended to be insignificant. Technical matters would cause the proliferation of white ballots.

Hadar said that some officers had neglected to distribute the C6 voting notification forms to all residents. On the other hand, a misunderstanding prevailed that holding a C6 form was the only way to vote, causing voters to think that they could not vote without the form, even though their names were included on the DPT.

He stressed that information dissemination to field officers and voters should be improved. Specifically for the 2019 election, the KPU should ensure that information on the recent Constitutional Court (MK) rulings was widely disseminated.

The rulings pertained to revisions on electoral regulations, including the permitted use of e-ID registration statements to vote for eligible voters who did not hold e-IDs and whose names were not on the DPT. In addition, the deadline for transferee voter registration had been extended from 30 days to seven days before voting day.

“The new information must reach the people,” Hadar said.

Candidates’ concerns

Both presidential candidates are also concerned about the potential for lower voter turnout in the 2019 election. In order to reach a “safe level” of votes, Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno are using the remaining 10 days of the campaign period to urge their supporters to vote.

Jokowi-Ma’ruf campaign director Benny Rhamdani said the campaign team would use the remaining time to expand the voter base.

It would proactively call on the people to participate in the election and urge them to go to the polling stations on Election Day. “Everyone [on the national campaign team] is urged to bring 10 people to the polling stations. Pro-Jokowi voters must not stay at home on voting day,” he said.

The Prabowo-Sandiaga campaign also delivered a similar message. In his campaign speech on Wednesday in Padang, West Sumatra, Prabowo asked the audience to vote in the election. West Sumatra is a stronghold of Prabowo-Sandiaga supporters.

Prabowo-Sandiaga campaign team deputy chair Ahmad Muzani has said on several occasions that the team was encouraging the people to exercise their right to vote in order to increase the quality and validity of the election results.

(REK/AGE/MTK/FRD)

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