KPU: There Are Still 1,223 TPS Makes Errors In Inputing Sirekap Data

Illustration of vote calculations manually in the 2024 Election (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Member of the General Election Commission of the Republic of Indonesia Betty Epsilon Idroos revealed that there are still 1,223 polling stations whose data on the C model form result from the vote count does not match the information on the Recapitulation Information System or Sirekap application.

"For the presidential and vice presidential elections based on data today, February 19, 2024, on the sixth day at 08.52 WIB, there were still 1,223 of the 800 thousand polling stations that experienced data errors. After the reading system, there was inappropriate data," Betty said during a press conference quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, February 20.

According to him, the data entry error occurred because the photo of the C model form data from the vote count sent by the voting group (KPPS) officer to the Sirekap application could not be read by the system.

As a result, there are differences in the number between the vote count C data and those stored in the Sirekap application.

The Sirekap application is known to use optical sign recognition (OMR) technology and optical character recognition (OCR).

The technology allows to recognize manual writing patterns and can be translated as a number value. Thus, numbers in the form of writing can be photographed and directly converted into numerical data in Sirekap.

Betty and the ranks of the Indonesian KPU confirmed that they would evaluate the Sirekap system so that these obstacles would not happen again.

"We will see all forms of evaluation later in terms of technology, in terms of infrastructure, in terms of human users. What is certain is that the KPU's efforts are to convey that this must be carried out as transparently as possible," he said.

He continued that currently there are around 1.6 million KPPS officers on duty at 823,220 polling stations (TPS) having Sirekap's application account.

Betty ensured that the evaluation would be carried out thoroughly for future system improvements.

On the same occasion, RI KPU member Idham Holik said the vote count had been delayed because the KPU had synchronized the TPS data with the data in the Sirekap application.

However, Idham ensured that the recapitulation process carried out by officers so far had been taking place in several major cities, including Jakarta.

The 2024 election includes the presidential and vice presidential elections, members of the DPR RI, members of the DPD RI, members of the provincial DPRD, and members of the district/city DPRD with a national voter list (DPT) of 204,807,222 voters.

The 2024 election was attended by 18 national political parties, namely (according to the serial number) of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Gerindra Party, PDI-P, Golkar Party, Nasdem Party, Labor Party, and the Indonesian Gelora Party, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Nusantara Awakening Party (PKN), Hanura Party, Garuda Party, National Mandate Party (PAN), Crescent Star Party (PBB), Democrat Party, Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), Perindo Party, United Development Party (PPP), and Ummat Party.

In addition, there are six local political parties as participants, namely the Aceh Nanggroe Party, the Atjeh Beusaboh Tha'at and Taqwa Generation Party, the Aceh Darul Party, the Aceh Aceh Party, the Aceh Prosperous Justice Party, and the Acehnese People's Independent Solidity Party.

Meanwhile, the presidential and vice presidential elections were followed by three pairs, namely Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar as number 1, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka number 2, and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud Md. serial number 3.

According to KPU Regulation Number 3 of 2022, the recapitulation of the 2024 General Election is scheduled to take place from February 15 to March 20, 2024.