Indonesians in Ethiopia Partake in the 2019 General Elections
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15 April 2019 07:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in Addis Ababa reported that around 150 Indonesian nationals in Ethiopia gave their votes in the 2019 General Elections.
One of the voters is Savitri Ari Ernaningtyas, a mother of two who has been living in Ethiopia for the past 20 years, who voted at a mobile election ballot at Awassa located 275 kilometers south of Addis Ababa on Saturday, April 13.
“I came to hand my vote at the mobile ballot, not only because it’s my democratic right but also because of love and I dearly miss Indonesia. I want Indonesia to progress even further,” said Savitri to Ambassador Al Busyra.
Savitri, who’s married to an Ethiopian national, also took the moment to recall the story on how she initially stayed so long in Ethiopia.
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“I met my husband in Yogyakarta back in 1986 when we were students at the Gajah Mada University (UGM). After we got married, we moved and worked together in Ethiopia in 1999,” she said.
She often expressed her longing for Indonesia and that she only visited Indonesia again once ten years ago. Savitri said that collecting and routinely listening to Indonesian songs helps her cope with her homesick.
According to Ambassador Al Busyra, there were 150 registered Indonesian voters from 213 who currently live in Ethiopia and Djibouti. The voting ballots for the Indonesian 2019 general election was held from Friday, April 12 to Sunday, April 14 across Addis Ababa, Djibouti, and Awassa City.
MARIA RITA HASUGIAN