Elections riddled with infractions, reports say<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Reports of widespread vote-rigging have been
\nflowing in to Jakarta faster than the notoriously slow returns
\nfrom the June 7 general election, with the Golkar Party saddled
\nwith most of the flak.<\/p>\n
Most common violations of the electoral rules include vote
\nbuying, government officials favoring Golkar, misuse of state
\nfacilities and intimidation.<\/p>\n
Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) activists
\nreportedly spotted an intelligence police officer, Zulfikar
\nBasaudi, casting his vote in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Under Indonesian electoral laws, members of the Indonesian
\nMilitary and Police are barred from voting.<\/p>\n
After voting, Zulfikar reportedly made a speech, encouraging
\npeople to reject the polls because he said the ink used on the
\nballots was substandard.<\/p>\n
In North Mukomuko district in the neighboring province of
\nBengkulu, the Indonesian Election Monitoring Organizations
\nCommittee (Koppi) found five illegal polling booths which
\nprovided 500 votes to Golkar.<\/p>\n
Koppi activists said the illegal polling places were initiated
\nby district election committee members who sympathized with
\nGolkar. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) is ahead in votes in the area.<\/p>\n
Vote buying, the most common violation allegedly perpetrated
\nby Golkar, is also reported to have occurred in Timor Tengah
\nSelatan district, East Nusa Tenggara. Twelve Golkar district
\nofficials have admitted to receiving Rp 100,000 each from a
\nGolkar legislative candidate seeking their support.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, dozens of supporters of the Democratic People's
\nParty (PRD) held a demonstration on the campus of Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity to demand that the poll supervisory authorities
\ndisqualify Golkar and the People's Sovereignty Party (PDR) for
\nalleged vote buying and misuse of state facilities.<\/p>\n
From Palu in Central Sulawesi, Antara reported on Saturday
\nthat it found a radiogram from the Banggai regent here
\ninstructing officials to help ensure a win in the polls for a
\nparticular party.<\/p>\n
It quoted the head of the provincial secretariat of the
\nUniversity Network for Free and Fair Elections (Unfrel), Iwan
\nGunawan, as saying members of the local election committees acted
\non the instruction by opening ballot boxes a few hours before
\nvote tallying when witnesses were not present.<\/p>\n
Unfrel also said in almost all villages several envelopes at
\npolling stations in the Banggai islands were not sealed after the
\npoll and ballot papers were not marked.<\/p>\n
Iwan also charged the local Golkar treasurer of distributing
\nRp 5,000 to each resident in the transmigration complex of Toili
\nVIII in Toili district.<\/p>\n
In Bangket village in Bunta district, Unfrel said the key to a
\nballot box was being held by the police. Intervention of police
\nin the poll process is illegal. Poll committee members except
\nGokar were not allowed to monitor the sending of ballot boxes to
\nthe district committee, the agency reported.<\/p>\n
Iwan said the network would immediately report all serious
\nviolations to the official supervisory election committee in the
\nprovince. It also will urge the committee to disqualify the
\nparties from participating in the next phase of the polls, which
\nis the allocation of seats following tabulation.<\/p>\n
Unfrel did not approve of reholding the polls \"because it will
\nbe the people who would bear the costs\".<\/p>\n
Twenty-five parties grouped in the Communication Forum of
\nPolitical Parties in Banggai regency have urged the regional
\nelection committee to restage the vote in Banggai.<\/p>\n
Forum chairman Basri Sono, a former deputy regent, said the
\nforum found \"strong evidence\" of attempts at vote buying by
\nGolkar and local officials.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the provincial chapter of Golkar, Djar'un
\nSibay, denied the charges. Golkar was leading as of Saturday,
\nfollowed by PDI Perjuangan and the United Development Party
\n(PPP).<\/p>\n
In South Sulawesi the Forum on Women's Issues noted various
\nviolations committed by different political parties, such as
\ncampaigning during the cooling-off period and money politics.<\/p>\n
In a statement signed by Zohra Andi Baso, the organization
\nsupported the growing demand to repeat polls in South Sulawesi
\ndue to rampant allegations of vote-rigging.<\/p>\n
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, the chairman of the provincial
\nelections committee, Chris Boro Tokan, said on Sunday the polls
\ncould be repeated here if discrepancies found in tallying could
\nnot be resolved. However, the polls could not be repeated if they
\nwas held past the June 17 deadline when provinces are scheduled
\nto announce their final results to the General Elections
\nCommission.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) protested the results, charging
\ninstances of vote-rigging. Boro Tokan told Antara he had received
\ncomplaints from several parties about mistakes in the counting
\nprocess and intimidation against election officials.<\/p>\n
However, he said as long as the official supervisory committee
\nand independent monitoring bodies did not report any indications
\nof cheating the provincial committee could not decide to repeat
\nthe polls.<\/p>\n
Apart from indications of vote-rigging, the PDI Perjuangan
\nprovincial chapter also reported the intervention of officials in
\nthe voting process and acts of intimidation toward people to vote
\nfor the Golkar Party.<\/p>\n
\"In the Teluk Mutiara district in Alor regency the number of
\nvotes are more than the number of voters,\" the party's chairman,
\nAnton E. Haba said.<\/p>\n
From Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, the University Network for
\nFree and Fair Elections (Unfrel) said a volunteer found a village
\nofficial had threatened to cut power and water supplies if people
\ndid not vote for a certain party.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Iwan Rompo said the incident was uncovered in the
\nWangi-Wangi district in Buton regency where some 25,000 refugees
\nwho fled the Maluku violence cast their ballots.<\/p>\n
In the same district in the Kapota village Unfrel also found
\nthat an elections committee pierced leftover unpierced ballot
\npapers before placing them in ballot boxes.<\/p>\n
On Saturday in Malang, East Java, the official supervisory
\nelection committee reported that two Unfrel volunteers tore up
\n123 ballot papers. The incident took place in Banbang village in
\nWajak district, Antara reported. However, the Malang elections
\ncommittee said they were spoiled ballot papers not used in the
\npolls, and that the case had been reported to police.
\n(40\/44\/23\/yac\/anr\/pan)<\/p>",
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