"Suggestions and responses from related parties and groups will be considered to proceed with the ballot paper simplification plan," Manik said in Jakarta on Friday.
The electoral commission will continue to hold more focus group discussions and follow-up mock elections to obtain responses and suggestions from voters, local committees, participants, and other parties, Manik added.
One rationale for modifying the ballot papers is that it will reduce the high work pressure faced by local electoral committee members operating polling stations, she said. The high pressure they face often results in physical fatigue and has even led to the death of multiple local committee members, she added.
Research conducted by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in 2019 has also revealed that voters are often overwhelmed by having to fill out multiple ballot papers at one go, which results in a high percentage of invalid votes, she pointed out.
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The LIPI research has also shown that voters need a significant amount of time to open and fold the ballot papers before putting them into the ballot box, she said.
By simplifying the ballot papers, voting may become more efficient as the use of voters' time, ballot papers, and boxes will be reduced, Manik pointed out.
Voters' ability to distinguish and identify their preferred candidate or party needs to be considered before modifying the ballot papers, she said. This factor is essential as voters need to indicate their vote correctly to ensure it is valid, she added.
Earlier, the elections commission had proposed six ballot paper designs, Manik said. Three proposed designs merge all five ballots into one, and the other three designs separate ballots for regional-level and national-level elections into two papers, she informed.
Voters in the 2024 general elections will simultaneously vote to elect the president and members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representative Assembly (DPD), the Provincial Legislative Assembly, and the Municipal/District Legislative Assembly.
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Translator: M Jasuma F, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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