Numbers...numbers...

It's all about numbers, as the latest bout of fun and games shows.

Firstly, some members of the legislature (DPR) want to revise Law No. 10/2008 on Elections. The problem is that at the moment the order of candidates on the ballot paper will play a major role in determining who is awarded the seats won by the parties. Now some legislators want the seat to go to the candidate with most votes (what an extraordinary idea). This will probably be opposed by those people who have got themselves at the top of the list, by fair means or foul...

And President SBY's Democratic Party seem to be in breach of article 54 of Law No.10/2008, which states that the maximum number of candidates shall be no more than 120% of seats in the legisalture. Kompas newspaper (3/10/08) and General Election Commission (KPU) member Endang Sulastri seem to be a touch confused. According to Kompas, the Democratic Party has 673 candidates, which many people who say that "the maximum number is 120 percent of the totla number of DPR seats (550), namely 672 people."

Step forward Endang, who says "...we have registered and counted 120 percent of the seats in each electoral region [constituency] and the result is 675 candidates, not 120 percent of 550 DPR seats."

A quick check on the calculator shows that 672 is 120 percent of 560, not 550. Why? Because article 21 of Law No. 20/2008 fixes the number of DPR seats at "560 (five hundred and sixty)".

So can "Kompas" and the KPU a) not count or b) not read?