Government to sign results if KPU refuses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government threatened on Friday to take over
\nfrom the General Elections Commission (KPU) if the commission
\nrefused to endorse the poll results.<\/p>\n
\"President (B.J. Habibie) will take over the election
\ncommission's responsibility to sign the election results if the
\nelection commission refuses to do it,\" State Secretary\/Minister
\nof Justice Muladi said after attending a plenary session of the
\nHouse of Representatives here on Friday.<\/p>\n
Citing the 1999 law on general elections, which says the
\npresident is responsible for the elections, Muladi said the
\nPresident could take such an action for the sake of the nation's
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
He chided political parties that continued to call for
\ninvestigations into poll violations, saying their reticence could
\nprevent the KPU from endorsing the poll results by July 26. He
\nsaid they should put national interests above their own.<\/p>\n
The majority of KPU members had threatened to refuse to
\nendorse the poll results if poll violations were not legally
\nprocessed. The law stipulates that elections can only be
\nconsidered free and fair if the results are accepted by at least
\ntwo-thirds of the elections commission's members.<\/p>\n
Commission chairman Rudini last week threatened to resign if
\nthe commission failed to meet the July 26 deadline.<\/p>\n
Muladi said that it was strange that while foreign observers
\nlauded the polls, most of the poll contestants called them
\nunfair.<\/p>\n
He conceded that violations did occur, but said they were by
\nno means similar to those that took place during the New Order
\nregime.<\/p>\n
\"Violations in the past were organized and structured while
\nthose in the recent elections were sporadic in nature,\" he said.
\n(rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-to-sign-results-if-kpu-refuses-1447893297",
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