Though I’m well above 17 years old, I actually never participated in Indonesia’s presidential election; until few days ago, 8 July 2009. I am now home in Jakarta on a 2-week off from work and my life in Sydney to settle few matters. Below are some snapshots on the voting scene I went to just near my house. The weather was scorching hot.

The voting place near my house, in front of a national middle school. People sitting down are waiting for their names to be called to vote.

Had to show the summoning letter from the RT (Rukun Tetangga) or simply put in English; Neighborhood Community; with our listed names on it. If your name is not on the list, no need to worry; show them your ID Card, and you are now listed.

The small voting chambers to tick your favorite candidate. Note that the cat underneath the first chamber is not dead, it’s just sleeping ^^. There are lots of stray cats in Indonesia. Usually the ones wandering around residential areas are quite friendly.

The paper ballot with the candidates pictures on it to put a tick mark on, we call this practice nyontreng.

After voting, we dipped our pinkies to this purple ink, marking that we’ve used our votes.

Another stray cat…