This Province Had the Highest Number of Abstentions in the 2019 DPR General Election

"Golput" or "golongan putih" is a term popularized by Indonesian pro-democracy activist groups in 1971, during the New Order regime.

At that time, "golput" referred to groups who consciously and deliberately chose not to vote in elections, feeling that their political aspirations were not represented by the candidates.

However, the term "golput" has also been used to refer to people who did not vote in general elections, whether for political reasons or due to technical obstacles.

These technical obstacles include not being registered to vote, not knowing the election date, or the polling station being difficult to reach, among others.

In the *2014 Political Statistics*, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) defines "golput" as "the group of voters who did not exercise their right to vote".

How Many Golput in Indonesia?

According to BPS data, in the 2019 General Election, the total number of voters registered in the permanent voter list (DPT) reached 192.77 million people.

Of this number, 157.47 million people, or 81.69% of the national total, exercised their right to vote in the 2019 DPR (House of Representatives) election.

Approximately 35.29 million people, or about 18.31% of the national total, did not vote, becoming "golput".

When broken down by region, the highest number of "golput" at that time was in Jakarta and overseas.

In 2019, Jakarta recorded approximately 9.75 million voters (including overseas voters). Of this group, only 73.8% exercised their right to vote in the 2019 DPR election, while the "golput" rate was 26.2%.

Other regions with relatively high "golput" rates in the 2019 DPR election were North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, Maluku, and North Kalimantan, each with a "golput" rate above 20%.

Here is a list of the 10 provinces with the highest "golput" rates in the 2019 DPR election based on BPS data:

1. Jakarta (including overseas voters): 26.20%
2. North Sumatra: 22.15%
3. West Sumatra: 21.22%
4. Central Kalimantan: 21.01%
5. Maluku: 20.82%
6. North Kalimantan: 20.70%
7. East Nusa Tenggara: 19.97%
8. Central Java: 19.96%
9. East Kalimantan: 19.86%
10. Lampung: 19.50%

Here is a list of the 10 provinces with the lowest "golput" rates in the 2019 DPR election:

1. Papua: 4.30%
2. Gorontalo: 11.29%
3. Yogyakarta Special Region: 11.62%
4. West Papua: 12.78%
5. West Sulawesi: 13.34%
6. Bangka Belitung Islands: 13.86%
7. Bengkulu: 14.63%
8. Jambi: 14.86%
9. Riau: 15.60%
10. South Sumatra: 16.05%