General Election Commission Questions the Validity of Government's Database
Wednesday, 26 March, 2008 | 14:50 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The General Elections Commission (KPU) will apply the survey mechanism to assure the demography database managed by the government before it is used as a permanent voter list (DPT). The KPU is not sure as to the validity of the government's database. “We do not want to be a garbage can,” said a member of KPU, I Gusti Putu Artha, in a seminar in Jakarta yesterday.

He said the invalid demography database can create conflict. The election on a regional level can be repeated if the database is disordered. Even a small difference in voter database can influence the elected candidate.

The Home Affairs Department plans to submit a demography database to KPU on 5 April. The KPU will then update it for a temporary voter list until June 2008. According to Artha, at that time the KPU can directly confirm the database validity. “The KPU will not do anything,” he said.

Artha, who was a KPU head for Bali, said the demography data was collected only from registered family certificates without cross checking. “I suspect this still happens,” he said.

Artha added that the survey was not done by the KPU, but by a third party in coordination with local officials. Artha confirmed the survey will not disturb the data updating process. He hoped both processes can be done together. Based on the survey, Artha said, the KPU will make a permanent voter list, hopefully on 5 October 2008.

Spokesperson of the Home Affairs Department, Saut Situmorang, said that until last Monday, 449 regions have reported the demography data. Eight regions in eastern Indonesia are still on the process. “But they are on the final process already,” said Saut in his office yesterday. In total, there are 457 regencies/cities that should report their demography data.

The government is optimistic that the demography data can be submitted to the KPU on 5 April 2008.

Home Affairs Minister, Saut said, asked the community to participate in the establishment of a permanent voter list.

Eko Ari Wibowo | Pramono