INDONESIANS ENTHUSIASTICALLY CAST THEIR VOTES TO ELECT NEXT LEADER by Fardah

  Jakarta, July 9, 2014 (Antara) - The "battle" for who the next Indonesian president started in the world's third largest democratic nation on Wednesday as millions of Indonesians cast their votes for the presidential election.

         Data of the General Elections Commission (KPU) has revealed that the number of eligible voters in the presidential election this year was 190,307,134, an increase from 187,8 million in the legislative elections organized on April 9, 2014.

         According to the list announced by the KPU on June 6, the number of eligible domestic voters was 188,268,423, comprising 94,301,112 male and 93,967,311 female.

         While overseas, the number of eligible voters was 2,038,711, comprising 919,687 male and 1,119,024 female.  

    For the first time in Indonesia's history, the presidential race has been contested by only two rival pairs, Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa versus Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla, and has triggered sharp polarizations, affecting the media and public in general. On the social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, the "battle" between the supporters of the two rival candidates has been very fierce.

         The KPU had established 486,866 polling stations, which were open from 7 am to 1 pm local time, throughout the country, to accommodate voters on the election day, July 9, 2014.

         The KPU had anticipated higher voter participation in the 2014 presidential election as compared to the 2014 legislative election, reported KPU Commissioner Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah recently.

         "Although we have not set any target, we are optimistic that the number of voters will definitely be higher than that recorded in the 2014 legislative election and the 2009 presidential election," Ferry remarked.

         Ferry assessed that the presidential election voting method, which is simpler than the legislative, will attract more voters to the polling stations.

         "Meanwhile, the community is passionate about the presidential election, and the KPU has also socialized the presidential election in a systematic manner, but this is not the dominant factor," he added.

         Based on the observation of Indonesian Police Chief General Sutarman, who had inspected several polling stations in Bekasi, West Java, on Wednesday morning, the public were enthusiastic in exercising their franchise.

         "I have inspected several polling stations in Bekasi. The enthusiasm of the public is quite high," General Sutarman said at the polling station (TPS) number 61 in Pekayonjaya, South Bekasi, West Java.

         The police chief had visited TPS no. 13 in South Tambun, TPS no. 22 in West Cikarang, and TPS nos. 61 and 74 in Pekayon, South Bekasi, among others.

         He said so far the implementation of presidential election had recorded no obstacles or problems, except for the distribution of election logistics in Yahukimo District, Papua Province.

         Of 51 subdistricts in Yahukimo, 42 had received the logistics except nine, where the distribution efforts were hampered by bad weather.

         "I am not sure whether they will delay the election or manage to implement it today," he remarked.

         During the 2009 presidential election, out of the 176.4 million registered voters, as many as 127.9 million people, or 73 percent, had exercised their franchise, while around 48.4 million voters, or 27 percent, had abstained from voting.

         The participation rate had decreased from that recorded in the 2004 presidential election, which had reached 84.1 percent.  
    Overseas, the 2014 presidential election was held between July 4 (Friday), 5 (Saturday), and 6 (Sunday), ahead of the nationwide election on July 9. Those dates fell on weekends to enable all Indonesian nationals to participate in the election.

    In Saudi Arabia, for instance, the presidential election was held on Friday, which was a holiday.

         Most of the overseas voting showed a higher turnout compared to the legislative election three months ago. The number of voters in Hong Kong, for instance, had increased by 400 percent from last April's legislative elections.

         "The number of voters in Hong Kong had increased by 400 percent from that in the previous April 9 legislative elections," Chief of the Working Group of the Overseas Election Committee (PPLN) Wahid Supriyadi said at the office of the KPU on July 7.

         A number of PPLNs reported an increase by about 100 percent of voters in many overseas cities such as Washington DC, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, and Melbourne, Wahid added.

         Foreign policy observer and columnist Jamil Maidan Flores in an interview with Rappler recently said the presidential election in Indonesia was important because "the laboratory for democracy is here."
    "If we have a successful experiment in democracy, then it is something the whole world should watch and is something that will help other countries," the Filipino, who has been living in Jakarta for many years, said.

         So, no wonder that about 215 foreign observers, among others, from Malaysia, Australia, Canada, and Thailand, came to Indonesia to monitor the implementation of the presidential election.

         "We appreciate the presence and care of the foreign observers. With the presence of a large number of observers, we believe that the presidential and vice presidential elections will take place in a fair, honest, and transparent manner," KPU Commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay stated on July 7, 2014.

         The presidential race was quite tight. The official results will be announced by the KPU on July 22. The early unofficial counting on Wednesday afternoon had indicated that Jokowi-Kalla will likely lead in the contest.

         The winning pair will be officially inaugurated as the country's seventh president and vice president in October 2014. 
(f001/INE/B003)