How Papuans Vote (5 photos)

There are Papuans in Indonesia. The real ones, who go hunting with spears, can't write and wear straws on their dignity. But this is a major power with a popular vote when electing a president. And by law they should vote, but how?!





How do they vote?

The thing is that in West Papua there are real tribes, who you can't force to show up at the polling station in chorus, they will be hunting or wherever they want to be.

That's why some regions of Indonesia use the noken system, which was invented back in 1971. Noken is like giving your vote to someone you trust (the US electoral college system says hello).

And in some villages, Papuans give their ballots to the tribal chief, who, in turn, collects everything in a traditional Papuan woven bag.



This is the woven bag where the chief "puts the votes"

In another case, the tribal chief chooses a presidential candidate on behalf of all eligible voters in his village, without collecting ballots.

In any case, the tribal leader has the last word with the people. Agree, such a system is extremely vulnerable to bribery.

The noken system was invented to take into account voters in remote places where the General Electoral Commission cannot install ballot boxes.



Tribes do not go to the polling station on the same day, because they can also fight

At the same time, the system is considered an undemocratic practice, since it turns out that the Papuans do not vote secretly. Well, and because the head of the village can always secretly change his mind for everyone.

Currently, about 12 of Papua's 29 districts hold Noken-style elections.

Of course, none of the villages have voting booths. But it's still better, the government believes, than not asking the Papuans at all. How else can they be gradually integrated into a society they've shown little interest in integrating into over the years?

Over the hills, over the mountains



This is what the mountains where the tribes live look like. You'll spend a week climbing here looking for a village

Nothing will change even if all the villagers learn to read and write. Because they live in a very hilly forested area. Sometimes even an experienced tracker can't get there.

And then the question arises: if they can't even vote, how do they know about the candidates' election programs? How can they even choose who to vote for if they live in their own forest world? But no one cares about that. There must be a vote, and whether they understand who they are voting for is not the government's problem.



They are unimaginably far from Indonesia's political problems, how can we trust them to choose?

So I would rather ask the question not how Papuans vote. But do Papuans even understand that they are voting?

Do you think there is any useful meaning in this?