Jakarta, NU Online
Thursday will mark another decisive moment in the nation's history, as citizens get set to elect their representatives in the country’s third post-Soeharto legislative polls.
That is, if they still have enough energy to go over the thousands of legislative candidates available to them, which can be readily viewed at all voting booths by Wednesday evening, and after the big UEFA Champion’s League soccer matches in the wee hours of Thursday.<>
“I’m a bit angry that the Jakarta General Elections Commission [KPUD] decided to display the full list of legislative candidates only a day before voting commences,” Ramdansyah, head of the Jakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said Tuesday.
“It’s like the whole election process is making people even more ignorant about how important the polls are,” he was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.
Ramdansyah’s concern was echoed by political analysts, most of who consider the 2009 elections poorly prepared, citing slow delivery of polling material, troubled voter lists and an overall lack of voter education.
Though the capital with 7 million eligible voters is the nation's indicator of whether the polls are a success, many Jakartans remain unfamiliar with legislative and regional representative candidates. If soaring train ticket sales are anything to go by, many voters may take the opportunity for a long weekend and skip voting .
Even more worrisome, many poll workers at polling stations and subdistricts remain ill-informed and less skilled about the rapidly shifting electoral rules of the game, putting the vote counting at risk of disputes that could spread to remote regions outside Jakarta.
“I still don’t know who these legislative candidates are, so I’m just going to vote either for SBY’s party or Megawati’s party, though I’m not sure which one yet,” said Suwati, a South Jakarta resident.
Nurdin, a West Jakarta resident, said he was tired of seeking information on the thousands of candidates contesting legislative seats at the House of Representatives, the provincial legislature and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).
“My choice will be based on the leader, which in this case is Prabowo’s Gerindra, because I think Indonesia needs a tough leader,” Nurdin said, referring to presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, a former general commander of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus), whose human rights record means he cannot get a visa to the United States.
A total of 2,425 candidates are contesting 94 seats at the City Council, as well as seats at the House and the DPD, with more than 7 million residents registered as eligible voters with the city polling body.
Amid the general air of ambivalence, a soccer match between Liverpool and Arsenal, and between Barcelona and Bayer Munich, scheduled for live broadcast on the eve of the elections, has given the Panwaslu a headache to ensure the voting runs smoothly.
Bambang Sartono, a West Jakarta resident, said he would ignore the candidates and vote for the party, adding he was getting ready to pull an all-nighter to watch the soccer matches and stay up until daybreak to vote.
“I’m definitely watching the games first. The election can come later, because I’m making entertainment a priority on my list,” he said. (dar)
Thursday will mark another decisive moment in the nation's history, as citizens get set to elect their representatives in the country’s third post-Soeharto legislative polls.
That is, if they still have enough energy to go over the thousands of legislative candidates available to them, which can be readily viewed at all voting booths by Wednesday evening, and after the big UEFA Champion’s League soccer matches in the wee hours of Thursday.<>
“I’m a bit angry that the Jakarta General Elections Commission [KPUD] decided to display the full list of legislative candidates only a day before voting commences,” Ramdansyah, head of the Jakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said Tuesday.
“It’s like the whole election process is making people even more ignorant about how important the polls are,” he was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.
Ramdansyah’s concern was echoed by political analysts, most of who consider the 2009 elections poorly prepared, citing slow delivery of polling material, troubled voter lists and an overall lack of voter education.
Though the capital with 7 million eligible voters is the nation's indicator of whether the polls are a success, many Jakartans remain unfamiliar with legislative and regional representative candidates. If soaring train ticket sales are anything to go by, many voters may take the opportunity for a long weekend and skip voting .
Even more worrisome, many poll workers at polling stations and subdistricts remain ill-informed and less skilled about the rapidly shifting electoral rules of the game, putting the vote counting at risk of disputes that could spread to remote regions outside Jakarta.
“I still don’t know who these legislative candidates are, so I’m just going to vote either for SBY’s party or Megawati’s party, though I’m not sure which one yet,” said Suwati, a South Jakarta resident.
Nurdin, a West Jakarta resident, said he was tired of seeking information on the thousands of candidates contesting legislative seats at the House of Representatives, the provincial legislature and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).
“My choice will be based on the leader, which in this case is Prabowo’s Gerindra, because I think Indonesia needs a tough leader,” Nurdin said, referring to presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, a former general commander of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus), whose human rights record means he cannot get a visa to the United States.
A total of 2,425 candidates are contesting 94 seats at the City Council, as well as seats at the House and the DPD, with more than 7 million residents registered as eligible voters with the city polling body.
Amid the general air of ambivalence, a soccer match between Liverpool and Arsenal, and between Barcelona and Bayer Munich, scheduled for live broadcast on the eve of the elections, has given the Panwaslu a headache to ensure the voting runs smoothly.
Bambang Sartono, a West Jakarta resident, said he would ignore the candidates and vote for the party, adding he was getting ready to pull an all-nighter to watch the soccer matches and stay up until daybreak to vote.
“I’m definitely watching the games first. The election can come later, because I’m making entertainment a priority on my list,” he said. (dar)
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