Indonesia's KPU announces supplementary voting in 668 polling stations

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Election Commission (KPU) is planning to hold supplementary voting in 668 polling stations spread over four provinces in response to problems including flooding, a scarcity of ballot papers, and security concerns.

Chairman Hasyim Asy’ari announced in a press conference on Wednesday night that these supplementary votes will be held in Demak, Batam, Jayawijaya, Paniai, and Puncak Jaya.

Demak, located in Central Java, for example, is contending with floods affecting 108 polling stations, while Batam in the Riau Islands is experiencing a shortage of ballot papers in eight polling stations, he said.

Jayawijaya in Papua Highlands meanwhile is facing security disturbances affecting four TPS, while Paniai and Puncak Jaya in Central Papua are facing issues in 92 polling stations and 456 polling stations, respectively, he said.

Indonesia held presidential and legislative elections on Wednesday, involving 204.8 million voters with 820,161 polling stations opened across 38 provinces.

Prabowo Subianto is reportedly said to be the front-runner, securing over 50 per cent of the votes in several quick counts of sample ballots from the presidential election.

The outcome aligned with many analysts’ predictions that the defence minister and his running mate, Gibran Rakabumi Raka, the Mayor of Solo in Central Java, could win in a single round.

Litbang Kompas showed that Prabowo secured 58.73 per cent of the votes, with Anies Baswedan at 25.10 per cent and Ganjar Pranowo at 16.17 per cent, based on 88.45 per cent of sample ballots counted.

According to Poltracking, Prabowo secured 59.35 per cent of the vote, Anies at 24.37 per cent while Ganjar at 16.28 per cent, based on a count of 95.67 per cent of the sample ballots.

The quick count results from research bodies registered with the KPU are unofficial but anticipated to align closely with the KPU’s official calculations set to be released on March 20.

Prabowo when commenting on the quick count results last night stressed the need for humility and to wait for the official results from the KPU.

"While we appreciate the indication of victory, it’s crucial to stay humble. This triumph should be seen as a victory for all Indonesians," he said at Istora Senayan.

Anies meanwhile reportedly said: "The official counting process takes time, let’s stay calm."

Ganjar reportedly said: "We’ll closely monitor all reported quick count results, and naturally, await the official final tally." - BERNAMA