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KPU won't print extra ballots

Wed, 07/08/2009 11:08 AM | Presidential Election

JAKARTA: The General Elections Commission (KPU) will not print extra ballots despite a possible surge in registered voters on election day.

Following a Constitutional Court decision Monday night to allow unregistered voters to show ID cards or passports to cast ballots in Wednesday's presidential election, authorities are anticipating a surge in voter numbers.

KPU member I Gusti Putu Artha said the commission did not have the time to print additional ballots and distribute them to regions.

"Even if we decided to print more ballots, it would be impossible to deliver them to the respective regions," he said Tuesday at the KPU office in Jakarta.

On Monday, the Constitutional Court revised articles in the 2008 presidential election law, allowing unregistered voters to show their ID cards to vote in the July 8 polls.

Candidates Jusuf Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri and civil society groups claim millions of eligible voters are not listed on the KPU's electoral roll.





Artha said he was confident polling stations would have enough reserve ballots for any additional voters.

He said any polling station which ran out of ballots could ask for additional supplies from those stations with extra.

Each polling station is equipped with 2 percent more ballots than the number of voters registered at that station. - JP

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