Senior citizens underserved by voter education

In an orange painted office somewhere in Malang, about 30 senior citizens are waiting to collect their pension fee. When asked about the elections, they say they are adament to learn how to mark the ballot papers in the voting room on April 9. But the election commission KPUD has not come to explain the voting procedure.

One of the women, Afsah, whose husband is retired from the Indonesian Air Force, worries about how to mark in the ballot papers. "Should we mark them three times?" she wonders.

Close to Afsah sits Suparni (70). She has never been absent at the elections so far, and has strong opinions on people who do not vote. "If I do not use my rights, it will be a disadvantage to me," she says.

But Suparni is still confused about the voting procedures. And due to her age, she can not memorize all the candidates. Just as Afsah, Suparni says she missed the voter education offered by the election commission KPUD in Malang. KPUD officals have not come to visit them.

Wagiman (81) a retired civil servant has the same complaint. He says he has never received an invitation from the KPUD to attend a voter education meeting. Instead, his family, neighbours and friends are teaching him how to vote in the upcoming elections.

It appears that senior citizens are underserved by the voter education campaign of the election commission, even though it is obvious that they need it most.  At voting simulations in seven regions in East Java there error levels reach 30 to 35 percent. As one of the seniors laments, many of us will have to learn how to mark the ballot papers in the voting room. (Any Rufaidah, Malang)