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Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 04/07/2009 2:29 PM  |  Bali

The number of people who will abstain from voting in the 2009 general elections will increase to 20 percent of total eligible voters, up more than five percent from 14.5 percent of non-voters in the 2004 elections, several political analysts have said.

Nyoman Subanda, dean of political science at the National Education University in Denpasar, believes that that the percentage of non-voters will be even higher than 20 percent.

“During the recent elections for governor, 24.5 percent of voters did not give their voices. In my opinion, such a condition will occur in the coming legislative election.”

Subanda identified a number of reasons that might prevent people from going to the voting booths including cultural, technical and logistical.

On Thursday (voting day), Balinese Hindus will observe one of the most sacred events, Bethara Turun Kabeh (The Gods’ Visit on Earth), which takes place on the tenth full moon of the Balinese lunar calendar at the Besakih Mother Temple in Karangasem regency.

“Technically, many obstacles have occurred including unregistered voters, people being unable to leave workplaces and a lock of information on how to vote,” he said.

Most ineligible voters will be prevented because of technical and administrative reasons. “In Bali, people rarely find that they become non-voters because of their ideological or political grounds. ”

Subanda also said that many people would not vote because they do not know who the right candidates are. He said that there are many candidates running for legislative seats, but that people do not have any idea about their personalities, achievements or their programs.

Anak Agung Gde Oka Wisnumurti, former chairman of the Bali General Elections Commission, is of the same opinion and said that technical issues and administrative problems could severely affect the number of non-voters on the island.

Bali has seen an increasing trend of vote absenteeism. The rate in the 2004 legislative elections was 14.5 percent, rising to 18.5 percent in the 2004 presidential election. The recent gubernatorial election saw an abstention rate of 24.5 percent.