Poll rigging has begun, PPP chief claims<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): United Development Party (PPP) chief Ismail
\nHasan Metareum said Wednesday he had evidence a government
\nofficial had begun fixing the May 29 poll results.<\/p>\n
After a leadership meeting to review the first week of
\ncampaigning, Ismail said his party was worried the general
\nelection committee was involved in poll rigging.<\/p>\n
Ismail said a subdistrict head in a Sumatra province had
\narranged results. He refused to name the province.<\/p>\n
Quoting a document, Ismail said Golkar was allotted 86.29
\npercent of the vote, the PPP 7.00 percent and the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party 6.71 percent.<\/p>\n
\"The subdistrict head admitted to fixing the poll result,\"
\nIsmail said.<\/p>\n
He said he had given the evidence to the minister of home
\naffairs, Moch. Yogie S.M.<\/p>\n
He said that judging from PPP's large campaign turnouts, it
\nlooked like the party would do better in this election than in
\n1992 because there was a correlation between campaign turnouts
\nand the percentage of the vote received.<\/p>\n
In 1977 PPP got one million votes to Golkar's 980,000. PPP
\nhad huge campaign turnouts that year.<\/p>\n
The Moslem-oriented party is aiming for 96 seats in the House
\nof Representatives. It has 62 seats now.<\/p>\n
Ismail criticized Golkar for mobilizing civil servants and
\nstudents to attend its campaigns.<\/p>\n
\"We have received reports from our branch offices that
\ngovernment employees and school students have been mobilized to
\nattend every Golkar election campaign event,\" he said.<\/p>\n
PPP's deputy secretary-general Mohammad Buang said that in
\nRiau, schools and government offices were deserted when Golkar
\ncampaigned.<\/p>\n
Buang said people who had business with the manpower and
\nreligious affairs ministries' local offices were not looked after
\nbecause most employees were at campaign events.<\/p>\n
Buang said elementary and high schools in Riau were also
\nclosed early this week because teachers and students were asked
\nto attend Golkar rallies.<\/p>\n
\"We were really surprised that the government rejected the
\nidea of holding the general elections on a holiday. It is a shame
\nthat government offices and schools are not working when Golkar
\nholds campaign events,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ismail said four PPP branches in Yogyakarta have been
\ninstructed to continue campaigning after a week-long boycott
\nafter an attack on two PPP offices on April 30.<\/p>\n
Five PPP Jakarta chapter branches were also temporarily absent
\nfrom campaigning after choosing not to take part in last Friday's
\ncampaign.<\/p>\n
The city-wide boycott was a show of solidarity against the
\npolice who refused to issue a campaign permit for the PPP's South
\nJakarta chapter. (imn\/aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poll-rigging-has-begun-ppp-chief-claims-1447893297",
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