From mascots to voting with nails. Everything about Indonesian elections
What's the story
Indonesia—the world's third-largest democracy—is voting in its general elections on Wednesday, with over 200 million people exercising their franchise. The polls will decide the country's next president, vice-president, as well as members of Parliament. "The anatomy of the sheer numbers of voters...makes the Indonesian election the largest one-day election in the world," an advisory board member of the Association for Elections and Democracy, Titi Anggraini, said. Here's everything else that makes the Indonesian general election one of a kind.
To prevent poll rigging
Unique voting tradition 'coblos' with nails
In a unique tradition dating back to President Suharto's regime, Indonesian voters use a nail to punch their ballot slips instead of a pen. This method, known as "coblos" or "to punch," is now believed to make vote manipulation difficult. Additionally, votes are counted publicly, with each paper displayed for observers to see. Voters' fingers are also inked to indicate they have cast their ballot.
'Fraud-prone'
Communal voting systems and viral doppelgangers
In some remote areas of Indonesia, a communal voting system called "Noken" is used, where a village head represents his community at the ballot box. This system is considered fraud-prone and challenges the concept of direct voting. Meanwhile, several doppelgangers of political candidates have gone viral during this year's election season. The list comprises two residents Arie Budiarto and Wasil Afin who resemble frontrunners Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan respectively.
Poll preparation
Elephants, horses, warships used to transport ballot
According to reports, over seven million election officials and independent workers are supervising the polling process taking place across three time zones. The ballot boxes were distributed under armed guards throughout the 5,000-kilometer-long archipelago. Officials used every means from elephants, horses, cows to warships to transport ballots to remote areas. Notably, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world consisting of five main islands and some 30 smaller archipelagoes. In total, it comprises 18,110 islands, of which 6,000 are inhabited.
'Voice of the election'
Election mascots and quick count method
The archipelagic nation also has election mascots—Sura and Sulu—representing the "voice of the people" and the "voice of the election," respectively. The counting begins immediately after voting ends, with many polling stations using a sampling method to determine a 'quick count,' which might not be accurate. While preliminary results are expected on Thursday, the final results could take weeks. Chairman of the General Election Commission, Hasyim Asyari, voiced concerns regarding potential challenges including rain, cyber-attacks, and fraud ahead of polls.