RIYADH: Indonesian expatriates in Saudi Arabia, who are registered with their embassy and the Jeddah-based consulate, will cast their votes today in the first of two phases of polls. Around 170 million voters including eligible Indonesians living abroad will choose between 38 political parties.
The Indonesians will vote again on July 8 to elect the next president and vice president of their country. “In Riyadh, after completion of the poll on Thursday, the votes will be tabulated and the tally result will be sent to Jakarta by electronic mail and cargo service,” said Dr. Salim Segaf Al-Jufrie, Indonesian ambassador, here yesterday.
Al-Jufrie said that a total of 16,209 registered voters are eligible to vote at the embassy, while 76,176 will cast their ballots at the consulate in Jeddah. Polling stations have been set up at both places, while arrangements have also been made for voting in Dammam. The polling stations will be open from 9a.m. to 9p.m.
He said those not registered with polling committees in the Kingdom, would not be allowed to vote. “We established polling committees that have been disseminating information about elections since October last year,” he added. Ambassador Al-Jufrie said the embassy, which is accredited to Oman, had also made arrangements for voting in Muscat.
He said eligible voters living in Indonesia and abroad would elect 692 members of the Parliament. A total of 560 members will be elected for the House of Representatives of Indonesia, while 132 members will be elected as regional representative councils.
The diplomat, who urged employers to grant their Indonesian employees time to vote in the elections, said this poll would play an important role in determining the result of July’s presidential election.
