57% of Overseas Voters Abstained in the 2019 Presidential 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 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, for example, not being registered to vote, not knowing the election date, or having difficulty accessing polling stations.

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

High Golput Rate Among Overseas Voters in Presidential Elections

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

Of this number, 158.01 million people, or 81.97% of the national total, exercised their right to vote in the 2019 Presidential Election.

Approximately 34.76 million people, or 18.03% of the national total, did not vote (golput).

A breakdown by region shows that the highest golput rate in the 2019 Presidential Election was among overseas voters.

In 2019, there were 1.99 million voters overseas. Of this group, only 42.54% voted in the 2019 Presidential Election, while the golput rate was 57.46%.

Other regions with relatively high golput rates in the 2019 Presidential Election include North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Maluku, North Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan, each with a golput rate above 20%.

Here is a list of the 10 regions with the highest golput rates in the 2019 Presidential Election, based on BPS data:

1. Overseas: 57.46%
2. North Sumatra: 21.97%
3. West Sumatra: 21.02%
4. Maluku: 20.70%
5. North Kalimantan: 20.19%
6. Central Kalimantan: 20.05%
7. East Nusa Tenggara: 19.85%
8. Central Java: 19.79%
9. Lampung: 19.40%
10. East Kalimantan: 19.27%

Here is a list of the 10 provinces with the lowest golput rates in the 2019 Presidential Election:

1. Papua: 4.25%
2. Yogyakarta Special Region: 10.33%
3. Gorontalo: 11.04%
4. West Papua: 12.41%
5. West Sulawesi: 13.19%
6. Bangka Belitung Islands: 13.48%
7. Bengkulu: 14.49%
8. Jambi: 14.72%
9. Riau: 15.32%
10. South Sumatra: 15.98%