Furthermore, Soesatyo sought a review of Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections.
"This is particularly with regard to the need to promptly implement an electoral system that is inexpensive, effectual, and simple as well as does not result in a high casualty count, in terms of the election organizers, supervisors, and security forces," the DPR speaker noted in a written statement in Jakarta on Friday.
Soesatyo gauged that the number of victims reached several dozens, while hundreds from the Voting Organizing Group (KPPS) had lost their lives, for which the concept of single-day elections in 2019 must no longer be followed in future.
The speaker called for the need to conduct prompt evaluation and make amendments in the execution of the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, the ballot counting system, and the grueling manual vote recapitulation system, prolonged campaign period, and the use of nails for casting vote, considered quite primeval in the face of a rise of new digital industrial technology, Industry 4.0.
"It not merely pertains to e-counting or e-recap according to the KPU's suggestion, but changes on the whole in the form of applying an e-voting system in the upcoming simultaneous local election for reducing time, saving efforts, and curtailing costs of up to trillions of rupiah," he pointed out.
Soesatyo remarked that the electoral process can be improved through the application of an e-voting system, thereby nullifying the requirement for several organizing committees, supervisors, witnesses, and extensive security along with ending the need to procure voting booths, ballot boxes, ballots, and ink.
Hence, the speaker believes that e-voting will make the electoral process easier and swifter in terms of calculation and recapitulation of votes, thereby also reducing the victim count.
"Hence, once the election results are declared on May 22, I call on the KPU to ready facilities and infrastructure as well as conduct a comprehensive study of the planned execution of elections and polling with the application of an e-voting system," he noted.
The speaker opined that this measure will ensure adherence to the principle of honesty, fairness, and confidentiality as well as ascertain smooth, secure, and orderly implementation of the upcoming regional elections and other elections, with priority always being laid on the principle of working in a transparent manner, with integrity, professionalism, and independently.
Moreover, the Golkar Party politician urged the Constitutional Court (MK) to gauge the impact of decisions pertaining to the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections that claimed several victims of the nation.
Soesatyo further called on the factions in the Indonesian Parliament, as an extension of political parties, to ensure that the presidential and legislative elections are executed akin to earlier elections.
"This is a separate electoral system with regard to the presidential election and the legislative election (DPR RI, DPD and DPRD), with a maximum three-month campaign period, so that the country's energy is not sapped during the election," he added.
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Eliswan Azly
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
