TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Executive Director of Migrant Care Wahyu Susilo questioned the legitimacy of the postal method for overseas elections. One of the risks found in this method is vote trading, as occurred in Malaysia.

“The error made is why this postal method is sustained since the results are froth,” Wahyu said on Sunday evening.

Another case found in Malaysia was a sack full of ballot papers delivered to the overseas election committee (PPLN), which have been voted on. The ballot papers also contained many different addresses.

According to him, the postal vote ought to be delivered one by one, instead of altogether in a sack. This year, more than 1,900 postal ballots were sent to PPLN Malaysia in one sack, according to the Indonesian Embassy in the country.

“One sack was delivered to the Embassy, while normally the ballot papers would be sent back one by one [from each of the addresses],” Wahyu explained, stating that the ballot papers ended up isolated, unable to be counted.

Wahyu also said that the identity of the ballot senders is currently unknown. “We still have to ask for follow-ups from the General Elections Commission and the Election Supervisory Agency regarding the fate of these 1,900 ballot papers,” he said.

In Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, overseas voters in the 2024 election amounted to 447,258; with 249,616 men and 197,642 women. The voting method includes overseas polling stations, postal elections, and mobile ballot boxes.

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