Dozens of residents, mostly women, started folding ballot papers at the Bireuen Independent Election Commission (KIP) warehouse in Geulanggang Teungoh Village, Juang City, Bireuen Regency, Aceh Province on Saturday (2/11/2024).
The mothers and young women who folded the ballot papers for the 2024 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) were under strict supervision.
The opening of the ballot paper folding activity began with the ballot papers for the election of the Regent and Deputy Regent of Bireuen Regency, opened by the Secretary of the Bireuen KIP, Saifuddin.
The Head of the Bireuen KIP, Saiful Hadi SE MM through the Head of Finance, General Affairs and Logistics, Sanusi at the location told a number of media crews that the total number of ballot papers for the election of the Regent and Deputy Regent of Bireuen was 326,928 sheets, and the ballot papers for the Governor and Deputy Governor of Aceh were 324,928 sheets.
The process of folding the Pilkada ballots is carried out by involving 72 officers, namely local residents, from the ballot folding schedule starting today until November 5, 2024, starting with the ballots for the Regent and Deputy Regent, followed by the Governor and Deputy Governor of Aceh.
The ballot folding activity starts every day from 08.00 - 17.00 WIB, one sheet of the Regent and Deputy Regent ballot costs IDR 250/sheet, while for the letters for the Governor and Deputy Governor of Aceh, there is no final amount for how much it costs because the budget is from the Aceh Province.
It's just that the ballots for the Regent and Deputy Regent of Bireuen are larger because there are three candidates, while the ballots for the Governor and Deputy Governor of Aceh are smaller because there are only two pairs of candidates to be elected by the Acehnese people later.
"On the first day of folding the ballots until 12.36 WIB, a number of damaged ballots were found, such as torn and ink spots that had penetrated, the exact number is not yet because we have to recount them later," explained Sanusi.
The ballot folding activity was also closely monitored by KIP Bireuen officers and also Bireuen Police personnel, there were male and female police officers who also checked officers both when entering and leaving the warehouse.
Data obtained at the folding location, namely the category of defective ballots, but still suitable and usable, were, there were spots/stains/ink splashes in one or more parts outside the voting area.
There were small spots/stains/ink splashes in one or more parts inside the voting area but did not affect the name, number, and face or neck of the candidate pair. There were also cut or partially missing borders, as long as the photo and name of the candidate pair remained intact.
There were differences in the color of the ballot marker but they were still the same, and there were inconspicuous stains outside the voting area and did not interfere with the overall design.
Meanwhile, the category of damaged ballots was such as the color print of the ballot paper was uneven, unclear, unreadable, and there were many stains. The ballot paper was wrinkled/wrinkled/torn. The color of the ballot paper marker did not match the type of election.
In addition, the photos and/or names of the candidate pairs are incomplete/unclear/blurry/shadowy. The KPU logo and/or the Regional Government logo are unclear.
There are holes in the serial number column or photo column or candidate pair name column, giving the impression that the ballot paper has been marked, according to the Decree (SK) of the General Election Commission (KPU) Number 1519 of 2024.