Hundreds of Residents Protest 'Flawed' Jakarta Gubernatorial Election
Jakarta. Several hundred residents took part in a rally in Central Jakarta on Monday (20/02) in protest of what they claimed was a flawed gubernatorial election.
The rally, organized by the Jakarta Residents Committee for Justice (KMJK), took place in front of the offices of the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) on Jalan M.H. Thamrin. Protesters demanded that the Jakarta Regional Election Commission (KPUD) take responsibility for last week's "unsuccessful" election.
"We demand that the Election Organizers Ethics Council [DKPP] investigate, prosecute and sack Jakarta KPUD chairman Sumarno. Of the 101 regions that held elections, Jakarta was the worst," KMJK coordinator Iwan Supriyadi said during the rally.
"We believe the Jakarta KPUD should take responsibility. If [Sumarno] does not want to be put on trial by the DKPP, it would be better for him to step down honorably. It would be better to acknowledge that the Feb. 15 Jakarta election was a failure," Iwan said.
He added that Jakarta sets the standard for regional elections in Indonesia, because it has better facilities compared to other regions.
"It turned out that the implementation was bad. Jakarta residents are disappointed. One serious example is the problematic voter's list, as well as the additional voter's list, that had not been professionally [and properly] compiled. There was also a shortage of ballots [at several polling stations]," he said.
"This is Jakarta, not Papua. It is not like those regions that lack transportation. It is humiliating."
During meeting with Iwan and some of the protesters, DKPP commissioner Saut H. Sirait agreed that any violations – regardless of their seriousness – should be addressed.
He encouraged people with knowledge of any election violations to report it to Bawaslu or the DKPP.
"Our hope is for the Jakarta KPUD to be more professional and take responsibility for [any failures that occurred during] the first round of the election. There should be no more problems in the second round," Saut said.
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