Ballot boxes scrutinized ahead of vote

Surabaya, NU Online
Three days prior to an official vote recount in Pamekasan, East Java General Elections Commission (KPUD) sought to check the condition of ballot boxes, some of which were reportedly damaged or had been kept in unsecured areas.

KPUD member Arif Budiman on Tuesday said his office was working with Pamekasan elections committee to make sure ballot boxes were in an acceptable condition before the scheduled recount on Sunday.<>

"We are still waiting for an official report on the ballot papers and boxes," Arif said, adding that the boxes had been kept in several storerooms at the Pamekasan elections commission building which is guarded by police around the clock.

However, another provincial KPUD member, Najib Hamid, said he had received information from reliable sources claiming ballot papers and boxes had been damaged and that some storerooms had only been locked with one key -- held by the regency elections commission.

For safety reasons, official procedures stipulate that storerooms containing ballot boxes must be locked with three keys: one held by the local polls body, one by the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwas) and one by local police.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that a vote recount must be conducted in Pamekasan after several violations became apparent in the vote count of the second round gubernatorial elections, on Nov. 4.

Governor hopeful Soekarwo and running mate Saifullah Yusuf won 217,076 of the 412,391 valid votes, over rivals Khofifah Indar Parawansa-Mudjiono in the second run.

The ruling, which sparked strong protests from supporters of Soekarwo, also ordered a vote rerun in Sampang and Bangkalan.

For the recount in Pamekasan, the ballot boxes will be redistributed to 1,540 polling stations in 13 districts. The recount will be conducted in the presence of witnesses from the two rival candidates and local Panwas team.

While the provincial election commission prepares for the recount, however, the government has yet to issue a special regulation on it or its financing.

The General Election Commission (KPU) has asked the Home Ministry to issue a special regulation stipulating that the vote recount results would be final and its financing must come from the provincial KPUD budget.

The provincial legislative council has rejected moves to allocate an extra Rp 14.5 billion (US$1.3 million) to finance the recount and rerun in the absence of such regulations.

The chairman of Soekarwo's campaign team, Martono, urged the KPUD to issue rulings on the vote recount and rerun to allow the two rivals, their campaign teams and witnesses to reconduct the election proceedings under closer supervision.

"We don't know whether it will be open for two sides to file a legal complaint on violations during the two political events," Martono was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.

Meanwhile the two rival candidate pairs were consolidating with their respective campaign teams and supporters in Bangkalan and Sampang, an activity that the local KPUD could not prohibit because it was not regulated either in the 2008 regional administration law or the 2007 general elections law.

Soekarwo and Saifullah Yusuf have been visiting pesantrens (Islamic boarding schools) in Bangkalan and Sampang to meet clerics to consolidate support.

In a meeting with supporters in Bangkalan on Tuesday, Khofifah said she was confident she would win and lead the province for the next five years.

Khofifah said many sides had looked down on her and her running mate, but she had showed outstanding performance in both the first and second rounds "and if the rerun is conducted fairly we will win in the two regencies". (dar)