SIBU: Indonesians in Sarawak are currently casting their votes for the 2024 Indonesian presidential election, and the town has topped the number of voter turnouts at 94 per cent, said Raden Sigit Witjaksono.
The Indonesian Consul-General in Kuching said that other areas, including Mukah, Miri, Batu Niah, Betong, and Bintulu, recorded voter turnouts ranging from 70 to 80 per cent, with Sri Aman registering the lowest turnout at 67 per cent.
“The exact percentage of voter turnout for Kuching is currently unavailable as the voting process is still ongoing. Although the legality of each ballot paper will only be verified on Feb 14 (and the figures might change) but I heard that in the last election five years ago, Sibu also topped the number of voter turnouts at 80 per cent.
“I thank Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) and all the authorities in Sibu for their help,” he said after attending a dinner hosted by the Mafrica Group of Companies at a hotel here last night (Feb 8).
Raden was earlier visiting Sibu to review the election process and also in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations.
The presidential election in Indonesia is scheduled for Feb 14, coinciding with the legislative election, and Indonesian citizens in Sarawak can participate in the elections organised by the Overseas General Election Committee (PPLN) and supervised by the General Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu).
“The balloting process in Sarawak will employ two methods: polling station (tempat pemungutan suara luar negeri) and mobile ballot box (kotak suara keliling),” he said, adding that the polling for 153 mobile ballot boxes will take held from Feb 4 to 10, while for the five polling stations, it will be on Feb 11, starting at 8 am at the voters’ polling station locations.
“The 153 mobile ballot boxes will cater to 61,912 voters across nine divisions of Sarawak, including Kuching (8,788 voters), Sri Aman (1,235), Betong (1,588), Sibu (8,255), Mukah (11,405), Bintulu (14,352), Batu Niah (9,252), Miri (8,811), and Lawas Limbang (1,214) while five polling stations situated at the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching will serve 2,988 voters.
After the voting concludes, the ballot papers from 153 mobile ballot boxes will be returned to the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching.
“On Feb 14, the counting process will be at Penview Convention Centre (PCC) Sejingkat, Kuching,” he said.
Raden thanked all stakeholders in Sarawak for their cooperation and assistance.
