VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

An electronic voting (e-voting) system for elections in the future could well be a solution to the cumbersome voting process used presently and drastically reduce the use of human resources, an official has said. "An e-voting system is accurate and can reduce the restlessness of people," Head of electronic voting (e-voting) system at Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Andrari Grahitandaru said here Thursday.

The vote count would not just be simplified but electronic voting could ensure an accurate recapitulation of votes. Through the system, the validity of a voter could be verified, he noted.

There is also no need to record votes manually. With e-voting, a voter just has to match his fingerprint on an electronic identity card (e-KTP).

Once a voter enters the polling station, he casts his vote using an electronic touch screen ballot. This enables the voter to cast his ballot privately and independently, and the result of the vote is immediately recorded.

Electronic voting, therefore, can provide efficiency of up to 50 percent when compared to manual voting.

However, electronic voting machines should be used at least five times.

KPU Commissioner Viryan Aziz informed journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday of the deaths of 119 polling station working committee members, and 548 others falling ill. These officials were managing different ballot booths across Indonesia's 25 provinces.

Some 33 Elections Supervisory Committee members too lost their lives while fulfilling electoral duties, Commissioner of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) Fritz Edward Siregar confirmed. (ant)