Decoding Indonesia’s 2024 Elections: From voting stations to real count results

Indonesia held a significant electoral event with citizens across the nation set to participate in the selection of key political figures on Wednesday (14 Feb).

The elections will encompass the voting for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, members of the People’s Representative Council (DPR), the Provincial Regional People’s Representative Council (Provincial DPRD), the Regency/City People’s Representative Council (Regency/City DPRD), and the Regional Representative Council (DPD).

Based on publicly available data from the General Election Commission (KPU), it is estimated that more than 203 million Indonesians are anticipated to participate in the 2024 domestic elections.

Additionally, approximately 1,750,000 Indonesians residing abroad will also have the opportunity to cast their votes.

To facilitate the electoral process, a total of 823,220 polling stations (TPS) have been designated for the 2024 election.

This includes 820,161 TPS within the country and 3,059 TPS situated abroad.

In terms of distribution, West Java takes the lead among the provinces, boasting the highest number of polling stations in Indonesia for the 2024 elections, with 140,457 TPS.

Following closely are East Java with 120,666 TPS and Central Java with 117,299 TPS.

Conversely, some provinces have a comparatively lower number of polling stations in the 2024 elections.

Southwest Papua, West Papua, and South Papua hold the distinction of having the fewest polling stations, with 2,156, 1,923, and 1,770 TPS respectively.

The electoral process

In the electoral process, voters are required to visit the polling station corresponding to the address on their identity card.

However, if voters find themselves out of town or abroad, they have the option to request a transfer to their place of origin, allowing them to cast their votes at their current residence.

The deadline for submitting transfer requests is set at no later than 7 days before the scheduled voting day.

Upon arriving at the polling station (TPS), voters are required to present a voter invitation letter.

This letter includes the voter’s identity and TPS information, and it is provided by the Voting Organizing Group (KPPS).

This letter is handed over to the committee, who then use it to complete the attendance list.

Subsequently, voters are individually called, and they receive five different colored ballot papers.

The gray ballots are designated for selecting presidential and vice-presidential candidates, red ballots for electing DPD members, yellow ballots for choosing members of the DPR, blue ballots for selecting members of the Provincial DPRD, and green ballots for electing members of the regency or city DPRD.

After receiving and verifying the ballot papers, voters proceed to a private booth to cast their votes.

Following this, the completed ballot papers are placed into designated ballot boxes, each corresponding to its respective color category.

The counting process

The execution of the elections is governed by General Election Commission Decree Number 66 of 2024, specifying that voting commences at 07:00 am and concludes at 01:00 pm.

Following the closure of the polls, the critical phase of vote counting is initiated. This process is overseen by officers from KPPS at TPS on the day of the election.

Vote counting involves announcing the voting results on paper, declaring whether the received votes are valid or invalid in a clear and audible manner.

Idham Holik, a Member of the General Election Commission (KPU), outlined the systematic approach adopted for vote counting.

The sequence begins with the tallying of ballot papers for presidential and vice-presidential candidates and then progresses to those for legislative candidates (DPR, DPD, provincial DPRD, and finally the district/city DPRD).

For the presidential and vice-presidential categories, ballot papers are considered valid if they bear the serial number, photo, and name of one of the candidates, along with the representation of the political party and coalition on the ballot.

Conversely, valid ballot papers for members of the DPR, provincial DPRD, and district/city DPRD are determined by the presence of the party number or symbol, and/or the name of the legislative candidate.

Validity criteria for ballot papers electing DPD members involve a clear mark within the column of a single candidate without extending beyond the designated area.

Notably, ballot papers remain valid even if marked multiple times within the same column for the same presidential-vice-presidential pair or the same political party column for legislative elections.

Upon completion of the counting process, the results are documented on the provided special vote counting form.

Real count announcement

The official announcement of the real count or actual vote tally results will be made by the General Election Commission (KPU) and will be accessible to the general public.

Following the predefined schedule and stages, the vote counting process concludes on Thursday, 15 February 2024.

Subsequently, the vote counting recapitulation stage extends until Wednesday, 20 March, 2024.

The subsequent step involves the determination of the election results through the real count.

The finalization of the election results must take place no later than three days after the receipt of a notification letter or decision from the Constitutional Court.