KIPP: Election Officials and Observers at Polling Stations Are Lacking Quality

Independent Committee of Election Observers (KIPP), in their press release (02/26), states that the Election Commission (KPU) and Election Monitoring Body (Bawaslu) have failed in providing the best officials of election polling stations and election observers. There were many cases where the election officials and observers do not understand the technical aspects of the voting procedure and, as the consequence, many voters have lost their opportunity to cast their vote.

Based on the observation conducted by KIPP, during the voting day there were many violations committed by election officials. First example, in many polling stations the election officials did not provide eligible but unregistered voters with additional registration form. This happened, to name a few, at Polling Station 03 Kayumanis, Matraman, East Jakarta and Polling Station 46 Tanahtinggi, Johar Baru, Central Jakarta.

Second, there were many voters with C6 Form who are not registered on Voters’ Registry. This in particular happened at Polling Station 30 Ciganjur, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.

Third, at Polling Station 136 Penjaringan Flats, North Jakarta, election officials told voters with C6 Form that they can begin to vote starting from noon only, even though the voters have already been registered on the Voters’ Registry.

“If a voter is already registered on the Voters’ Registry, election officials should allow him/her to vote, even though he/she did not bring C6 Form,” says the Executive Director of KIPP, Rindang Adrai, to Rumah Pemilu (02/27).

Fourth, the amount of actual available ballot papers is not the same with what is recorded on the logistics registry. At Polling Station 28 Lebak Bulus, West Cilandak, South Jakarta, there were only 617 ballot papers available even though the logistics registry shows that there are 716 ballots. The total number of voters at Polling Station 28 was 698.

KIPP has three recommendations so that KPU and Bawaslu can run better elections. First, KPU and Bawaslu should open a hotline and a communication hub to proactively ensure all registered and eligible voters can cast their vote. Second, KPU and Bawaslu should be able to ensure that all election officials and observers understand all the technical aspects of voting procedure. Third, KPU should review the regulation contained in the KPU Regulations (PKPU) No.3/2015 and Laws No.1/2015 on terms of service for election officials.