REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) said Indonesia must implement electronic voting system in elections to increase the speed and accuracy of vote counting.

"The e-voting process will annihilate various 'quick counts' done by pollsters, as the real vote count will be completed only hours after the election is held," said BPPT's Chief of e-voting Technology Andrari Grahitandaru on Wednesday.

Andrari explained that e-voting would allow the election committees in all areas of Indonesia to send the voting results to the General Elections Commission (KPU)'s data center the same day the election was held.

"The data will be automatically uploaded and updated in KPU's website," he said.

Grahitandaru also claimed that e-voting will reduce the possibility of illegitimate ballot papers during election.

"If e-voting system is implemented, illegal ballot papers cannot be used because the voters will cast their votes using touchscreen, which will direct voters to vote in accordance with the KPU's rules," Grahitandaru explained.

He also stated that e-voting will save the government's expenditure, especially in printing papers for the ballot.

"However, the hardware and software of e-voting machine must be developed in Indonesia. The technology must also be used continuously in various areas of the country," he said.

Therefore, Grahitandaru proposed that the government establish a state-owned company to be assigned to develop the e-voting machine, and assisted areas in Indonesia in using the technology for elections. The BPPT itself had developed an e-voting machine, which had been used in the election of chief of villages in three districts in Indonesia--Jembrana (Bali province), Boyolali (Jateng), and Musirawas (South Sumatra).

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