Poll praise premature: Experts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign and local observers both voiced on
\nWednesday grave concern over the snail's pace of vote counting as
\nan unofficial tally showed the ruling Golkar Party leaping into
\nsecond place and opposition parties aired suspicion of foul play.<\/p>\n
Earlier tallies put Golkar trailing in third place, but an
\nunofficial tally late on Wednesday showed it leap-frogging the
\nopposition National Awakening Party (PKB) and grabbing more than
\n20 percent of the counted votes.<\/p>\n
European Union chief observer John Gwyn Morgan expressed his
\nteam's doubts as counting from Monday's election, the nation's
\nfirst free vote in 44 years, continued at a snail's pace.<\/p>\n
\"This will cast gravest doubts that the whole operation will
\nin the end be conducted as it should be,\" he told a news
\nconference.<\/p>\n
Morgan said the voting itself had been free and fair, but
\ncited reports of irregularities in the process of counting -- a
\ndaunting logistical exercise in a country of 130 million voters
\n-- and of data being typed wrongly into computers.<\/p>\n
\"This is very serious and it is uncorroborated. We are very
\nconcerned,\" he said. \"The danger is that the slowness of the vote
\nwill become unhealthily slow.\"<\/p>\n
Australia's chief observer also said it was important the
\ncount picked up pace. \"If it takes too long, people will start to
\nbe concerned,\" said Senator Alan Ferguson.<\/p>\n
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, leading another team of
\nelection monitors, said he believed the delay was caused by
\ntechnical factors but monitors would have to remain vigilant.<\/p>\n
\"Continuing delays could give rise to confusion and tension
\namong the contestants and the public,\" the monitoring team led by
\nCarter said in a statement.<\/p>\n
General Election Commission (KPU) chairman Rudini said he was
\ndisappointed that results even from cities were taking so long,
\nbut said he hoped the speed would soon improve.<\/p>\n
Recounts would be held in a handful of polling stations,
\nmostly in the restive regions of Aceh and East Timor, he added.<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday evening, figures from Rudini's office
\nrepresenting 4.4 percent of votes counted gave Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) a commanding lead on 38 percent.<\/p>\n
Golkar was a distant third with around 15 percent with
\nAbdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB) second with 21
\npercent. Abdurrahman, or Gus Dur as he is better known, had
\nthreatened to set up an emergency government should any evidence
\nof tampering in vote counting emerged.<\/p>\n
But unofficial tallies from the Joint Operations Media Center
\n(JOMC) at the Aryaduta Hotel put Golkar second with 21 percent.<\/p>\n
Those figure represented more than 6.6 percent of the vote and
\nalso put Megawati's party first with 35 percent and the PKB third
\nwith 12 percent.<\/p>\n
Amien Rais, leader of the opposition National Mandate Party
\n(PAN) which was languishing far behind its expectations in the
\nearly vote tallies, said the \"painfully slow\" count was a worry.<\/p>\n
Amien, a front-runner for November's presidential election,
\nsaid in a television interview delays could make people suspect
\ncheating in Indonesia's first democratic election in more than
\nfour decades.<\/p>\n
Television stations should be broadcasting highly detailed
\nresults from district and province levels to allay concerns, he
\ntold Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"If the suggestion about TV I mentioned is not implemented,
\nthen I would be forced to use my political logic and consider the
\nfact that there might be foul play in the vote count. Many people
\nare frustrated at the speed of this count,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rudini said separately: \"Please don't be suspicious about the
\nslowness of this count. We realize such delays have already
\naroused suspicion and impatience in the Indonesian community.\"<\/p>\n
\"I am worried about foul play if we have to wait for too
\nlong,\" said Laksamana Sukardi, an official of PDI Perjuangan.<\/p>\n
The same concern was voiced by Todung Mulya Lubis of the
\nUniversity Network for Free and Fair Elections (UNFREL), who
\nquestioned some foreign parties' rush to praise Monday's polls as
\nfree, fair and democratic.<\/p>\n
\"An election can only be declared free and fair if the
\nprocesses of vote counting, data processing and public
\nannouncement of the results are also free of manipulation,\"
\nTodung said.<\/p>\n
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday the poll
\nwas democratic, as U.S. State Department's representative James
\nFoley hailed enthusiastic Indonesians who went to the poll, while
\nhead of Japan's observation mission for the poll, Sumio Edamura,
\nsaid voting and counting at polling stations were free and fair.<\/p>\n
Todung pointed out the conclusions about the election being
\nfree and fair should have taken into account not only the polling
\nbut also the \"vital processes of vote counting and transporting
\nthe ballot boxes to their final destination\" which can be fraught
\nwith manipulation.<\/p>\n
\"That is why, monitoring agencies should not make do with
\nsecondary data as presented by the General Elections Commission
\n(KPU), but must be willing to work hard to gather exact primary
\ndata,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking in a similar vein, Jeffrey Winters of the
\nNorthwestern University in Chicago told SCTV in an interview he
\nwas worried of possible vote-rigging \"after foreign observers who
\nhave heaped praise check out of hotels, for now we are facing a
\nphase vulnerable to fraud.\"<\/p>\n
Activist Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) also
\ncriticized premature praise. \"The local observers report many
\nirregularities and are not yet willing to declare the poll free
\nand fair,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Wiranto called on
\nthe public to be patient and avoid making statements that would
\ncreate restlessness.<\/p>\n
\"The poll proceeded well. Avoid unnecessary acts which would
\ndisrupt this good development, especially now that vote counting
\nis underway,\" he said, warning that those who created a
\ndisturbance regarding the elections would have to contend with
\nboth the people and the military. (swe)<\/p>",
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