Ballot counting runs at snail's pace<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A telecommunication traffic glut and unskilled
\nelections workers have been blamed for the slow-coming of ballot
\ncounting reports across the country. At least one observer has
\naired concern the tardiness may invite vote-rigging.<\/p>\n
General Election Commission (KPU) chairman Rudini said the
\nlateness was \"the consequence of slow but accurate reporting of
\nballot counting\" in regions. He described how voting went in a
\ndemocratic manner in many areas but ballot counting was painfully
\nslow because of poll workers' poor skills.<\/p>\n
\"Most (of the poll workers) in polling places and villages
\nwere street vendors, pedicab drivers, farmers and ojek motorcycle
\ntaxi drivers with no experience and skills in organizing
\nelections,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The commission originally planned to gather and announce at
\nleast 60 percent of the votes in 12 hours after voting ended at 2
\np.m. Monday. As of 8.15 p.m. Tuesday, less than one percent of
\nthe votes were counted.<\/p>\n
Rudini, a former home affairs minister, insisted against
\ncomparing the situation with the past six elections under
\nSoeharto's New Order regime where the winner -- in each case
\nGolkar -- was announced even before ballot counting was
\ncompleted.<\/p>\n
Separately, observer Jeffrey Winters from the Northwestern
\nUniversity in Chicago, said the slow process opened loopholes for
\nvote-rigging, chiding the election officials' failure to come up
\nwith a satisfactory explanation.<\/p>\n
\"Is something else going on? The danger is, will this delay
\ncontinue? Because ... the longer the delay is between the voting
\nand the announcement, the greater chance there is (for parties)
\nto distort results,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rudini said, however, rigorous procedures had been put into
\nplace to guard against vote-riggings.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, experts said slow reporting from local polling
\nplaces to election committees at regencies, provincial capitals
\nand Jakarta, might have been caused by a telecommunication
\n\"bottleneck\", as thousands of poll workers across the country
\ntried to phone in results.<\/p>\n
Sudjana Sapi'ie, the director of Bandung-based Rector's Forum
\npoll watch, said many poll watchdog activists were able to report
\nin on Tuesday morning only. He said his organization, which
\nlaunched the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) for comparison of
\nofficial vote counting, also encountered problems because the
\nmain telecommunication link to the processing center in Jakarta
\nwas not functioning.<\/p>\n
The activists originally only needed to send reports by phone
\nand facsimile but because of the telecommunication glut and
\ntransmission errors, the plan fell through. A back-up system,
\nhowever, was being installed.<\/p>\n
Sudjana expected that by today, some 70 percent of the votes
\ntaken from a sample of 8,900 polling places in various provinces
\nwould be counted and announced through the forum's website
\nhttp:\/\/forumrektor.itb.ac.id. By Thursday, all votes will be
\nexpected to have been counted.<\/p>\n
The forum planned to submit the result of ballot counting for
\ncomparison to the election commission.<\/p>\n
Glitches<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the Maluku capital of Ambon, late reporting of
\nballot counting from polling places was attributed to the
\ninsistence of the Provincial Elections Committee that poll
\nworkers submit written reports.<\/p>\n
Lutfi Sanaki, the committee head, said in past elections,
\nworkers could report only by short single band (SSB) radios
\navailable in villages. \"Now reports have to be in writing and
\nsubmitted by fax, and in detail. This is so everything is
\naccountable,\" Lutfi said.<\/p>\n
The more rigorous procedures put extra burden on poll workers.
\nIn Bogor, West Java, polling place officials worked until the wee
\nhours of Tuesday to finish checking and counting ballots.<\/p>\n
Jamaluddin, one of the workers in Sukadamai village, described
\nhow he has been working non-stop from the day before election
\nday, up to Tuesday morning, without almost any refreshments. \"No
\ndrinking water, and much less snacks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also complained how lengthy the ballot counting process had
\nbeen. Mistakes in calculation or tabulation often forced the
\nworkers to repeat the process from the start.<\/p>\n
Abdul Rahman, one of the witnesses at a polling place, said
\nexhaustion often caused them to make mistakes which meant a
\nrepeat of the process.<\/p>\n
Workers from another polling place, in Pasir Mulya, however,
\nsaid they did not mind the long hours and tedious work because
\nresidents provided them with enough refreshments.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, at Tuesday afternoon, many complained
\nof slow reporting from regencies where workers continued ballot
\ncounting until Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
Also in West Java, Provincial Elections Committee in Bandung
\nhad received reports from 10 regencies by Tuesday afternoon
\nreports. The other 16 had not even contacted the committee.<\/p>\n
Similar complaints were voiced in Pekanbaru, the capital of
\nRiau, but the situation was blamed on poor transportation.
\n(24\/39\/43\/44\/48\/rms\/swe)<\/p>",
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