PREPARATIONS FOR APRIL 9 POLLS 99 PCT COMPLETED : KPU CHIEF

Jakarta, March 27 (ANTARA) - General Elections Commission (KPU) Chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said preparations for the legislative election on April 9 were now 99 percent completed.

"Preprations for the legislative elections are 99 percent completed. God willing, there will be no schedule changes, and people will cast their ballots on Thursday, April 9, 2009," Anshary said at a gathering to familiarize Social Affairs Ministry employees with the elections here Wednesday.
He said the bulk of election logistics such as ballot papers, seals, ink and ballot boxes had already arrived at the offices of district and municipal level general election commissions throghout the country.
During the next few days, he said, about 10 million additional ballot papers and replacements for damaged ballot papers would be despatched to the regional general elections commissions.
"All the logisitics have actually already reached their destinations, only the extras have yet to be sent. The printing of the extras is being done today and this will be finished in one day's time, after which they will be despatched by plane. The sending of all the needed logistics will be completed on March 29 or 30." he said.
About the complaints from many parties about problematic fixed voter's lists (DPTs), Anshary said the crux of the problem was now considered to have become clear. "We have offered to the political parties to meet and compare their findings with the DPTs drawn up by the KPU. If we find discrepancies, they will be sorted out or corrected. But until now, they have not come up with proof," the KPU chief said.
Anshary said according to the data in the fixed voter's list drawn up by the KPU, a total of 171,265,442 Indonesians are expected to exercise their voting right on April 9.
The KPU had made the list through a long process which also involved the political parties, especially in clarifyng the data in the list and comparing them with the parties' own lists, Anshary said.