Millions of people could lose their voting rights in the upcoming regional elections in February as the government and the House of Representatives insist that they have electronic identification cards (e-KTPs) to be eligible to vote. As of Wednesday, the Home Ministry reported that 163 million people nationwide had already registered for e-KTPs. However, the remaining 19 million people have yet to obtain the cards. Many across the country are complaining about the shortage of blangko — blank cards used to create e-KTPs consisting of seven layers and chips. Some of them also said that many registration machines in the districts are broken.
The country will hold simultaneous regional elections in 101 regions across the country. From these regions, five million eligible voters still do not own e-KTPs, which means that the abstention rate due to administrative problems might rise during elections, Sigit Pamungkas, the General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner, told The Jakarta Post. “Just because of administrative problems, citizens’ rights to vote in elections would be disqualified,” he said.
The KPU met with the government and the House of Representatives on Monday to discuss the issue. It suggested that all citizens be given opportunities to vote by using valid identifications, including e-KTPs, non-electronic IDs and family cards.
Full Article: Millions of people may lose voting rights – The Jakarta Post.