Ballot-Punching Snafu Leads to Massive Recount in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia —  A day after Indonesians went to the polls in the country’s first direct presidential election, voting officials Tuesday were scrambling to recount millions of ballots initially deemed invalid because the voters punched an extra hole in them by accident.

The General Election Commission learned of the problem Monday and changed its rules to allow the ballots as long as the second hole was in a blank part of the voting paper. The problem stemmed from voters failing to unfold the rectangular ballot and, therefore, punching a hole that went through both sides.

The commission played down the controversy.

“It’s not a major obstacle,” said Hamid Awaluddin, a member of the election panel.

With no candidate getting a majority, a runoff election will be held for the top two finishers. About a third of the ballots have been counted; official results are not expected for days.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appeared to be leading, with 33.9% of the vote, according to a sample count taken by the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, or NDI. President Megawati Sukarnoputri received 26% in the NDI count, and retired Gen. Wiranto had 23%. The sample count had a margin of error of 1.1%.

Eko Susilo, a vote counter at a Jakarta polling station, said he had stayed up till 4 a.m. recounting the double-punched ballots.

“Several residents were yelling at us to make sure we counted the ballots that had been punctured twice,” he said. Pointing to dozens of metal ballot boxes stacked in the small, windowless room, he added, “I suppose we’ll be stuck here all day.”