Foreign Election Committee (PPLN) Cairo, Egypt released the results of the recapitulation of the votes for the election of the president and Regional House of Representatives in Electoral District II Jakarta. Presidential Candidate Number 1 Jokowi-Ma'aruf obtained one thousand 597 votes and Presidential candidate pair Prabowo-Sandy received 4 thousand 739 votes with 6 thousand 456 ballots used and 120 invalid ballots. The situation at the counting location at the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo was conducive even though very few Indonesian citizens came to witness the vote count. Foreign Election Committee (PPLN) Cairo deployed 82 election officers to carry out the calculations. The vote counting was also attended by foreign oversight committee and witnesses. Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt Helmy Fauzy said the Indonesian nation was mature in democracy, following many wishes and praises he received from various ambassadors and the international diplomatic community regarding the holding of Indonesian elections in Egypt which were considered orderly and enthusiastically welcomed by Indonesian Citizens in Egypt.

"I want to appreciate the work of PPLN who are tirelessly preparing this national objective. A party of democracy where we are admired by the international community. I just received congratulations from various ambassadors and diplomatic communities in Cairo. Whoever elected as president and vice president, finally we are all brothers in the shade of the red and white flag, as citizens of the Indonesian nation," said Helmy Fauzi.

Ambassador Helmy Fauzi also gave appreciation to all committee for organizing elections in Egypt so that the election can be held peacefully and orderly. According to him, the dynamics in the election are natural but can still be tolerated without significant turmoil. Then Helmy appealed to all Indonesian citizens in Egypt to be able to wait for an official decision from the Indonesian Election Commission. (KBRN/ROCKY/AHM)

Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates number 1, Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin, excelled with above 80 percent of votes from Indonesian citizens who exercised their right to vote in China.

The vote acquisition data for the Presidential Election compiled from three Foreign Election Committees (PPLN), namely Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, on Thursday, showed that the Jokowi-Ma'ruf pair got as many as 5,414 votes in China or around 83.7 percent of the total valid votes at 6,498.

In Mainland China, pair number 2 Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno received 1,000 votes or around 15.7 percent.

Jokowi-Ma'ruf's most votes came from the Shanghai PPLN area with 2,167, followed by the Guangzhou PPLN area (1,789) and Beijing PPLN (1,458).

Prabowo-Sandi won 506 votes in Shanghai, Beijing (327) and Guangzhou (167). The number of invalid ballots in Shanghai was 62, Beijing (22) and Guangzhou (2). The voter turnout in Shanghai reached 91.53 percent, Guangzhou (73.7 percent) and Beijing (76.11 percent).

The three PPLNs set up polling stations (TPS) for Indonesian citizens who live close to the Indonesian government representative office on Sunday (14/4).

Shanghai PPLN and Beijing PPLN also send ballots by mail to Indonesian citizens who are registered in the Final Voters List (DPT) and Additional Election List (DPTb).

The Guangzhou PPLN also held a voting with the mobile ballot box (KSK) method in Xiamen, Nanning, Haikou, and Guilin, besides also establishing polling stations at the Indonesian Consulate General in Guangzhou.

The vote acquisition data was compiled from the C1 plano form of the presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs at each polling station, postal, or KSK. (ANTARA)

After his state visit to Saudi Arabia on April 14, President Joko Widodo discussed a number of results of a meeting agreed between the president and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdul Azis. One of them was an additional 10,000 hajj pilgrimage quotas. Thus the number of Indonesia hajj pilgrims is 231 thousand every year. The results of the meeting were discussed at a limited meeting he chaired at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Thursday (4/18) morning. On that occasion, the Head of State stressed the importance of decisions that must be taken by the Indonesian government in additional Hajj quota and additional Saudi Arabia investment plans in the petrochemical industry. 

"Our work visit to Saudi Arabia, firstly, is related to an additional 10 thousand quota for our prospective pilgrims. Then the second one is also related to the desire to increase Saudi Arabia's investment in Indonesia. Both of them I think we should follow up as soon as possible so that this response will be completed soon, especially the Saudi Arabian investment plan to Indonesia that was delivered yesterday, the Saudis want Indonesia to cooperate with the Saudis, and make our country a hub for the petrochemical industry in Southeast Asia, said President Joko Widodo.

Previously, President Joko Widodo and a number of working cabinet ministers paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday (4/14). On this occasion, the Head of State met with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. They discussed the desire to increase employment bilateral cooperation, especially in terms of energy and petrochemicals. (VOI/RINI/AHM)

Vice President M Jusuf Kalla hoped that the General Election Commission (KPU) and its personnel across various regions could work honestly, fairly, transparently and well during the vote counting process.

"Yes, we are grateful that the election has run well, transparently and honestly. We also hope that KPU could (work) well, honestly, fairly and transparently," Kalla said on a private television station in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He asked all parties to help supervise the vote counting process at the respective polling stations up to the levels of sub-district, district, municipality, province, and finally at the KPU headquarters in Jakarta.

Kalla also reminded the public to accept the official results of the elections to be announced by the Commission later.

Counting of votes for legislative and presidential elections were being conducted at 809,563 polling stations (TPS) on Wednesday and Thursday (18/4). Later, a vote recapitulation will be carried out at the sub-district level from April 18 to May 4, at the district and municipality levels from April 22 to May 12, at the provincial level from April 22 to May 12, and at the KPU Headquarters from April 25 to 22 May.

Indonesia just conducted its simultaneous legislative and presidential elections across the country on April 17, 2019. The number of eligible voters is over 192 million.

The election in the world's largest archipelagic nation with over 17 thousand islands and a population of 260 million is considered the biggest and most complex in the world.  (ANTARA)