Indonesia plans e-voting for 2019 presidential elections
By Charlene Chin
Digital voting could mean fewer frauds and quicker results for the Indonesian electorate.
The Indonesian Government is looking at electronic voting for the 2019 presidential and legislative elections. The plan is being discussed by ministries under the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security, revealed Soedarmo, director general of politics and general administration.
The government is yet to make a final decision, however. Digital voting will help eliminate fraud and will return voting results within minutes, he said, according to the Jakarta Globe. Over 700 cases of election fraud were received by the constitution court during the 2014 elections.
Most cases were rejected due to lack of evidence. Soedarmo cited Philippines’ implementation of electronic voting in 2010 as an inspiration.
Governments must strengthen cyber security to protect electoral data, however. Earlier this year, the Philippines’ entire voter database was hacked and stolen records published online.
The Indonesian government has been developing an electronic voting system since 2014. The system would still require voters to visit polling stations, however, to verify their identities and cast their vote.
“Citizens can just bring their electronic identification cards (e-KTP) to the polling stations,” said Marzan Iskandar, Chairman of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, according to Antara News.
This platform is meant to lower the cost of general elections by 25 percent, saving on ballot papers and cutting off the need for manual labour.
Image shows e-voting machine used in Belgianˈs 2014 regional elections