Poll watchdogs battle limited resources<\/p>\n
By Tjahjono Ep.<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesian people, still euphoric over last
\nyear's downfall of strongman Soeharto, are bracing for a
\nsupposedly democratic general election scheduled for Monday.<\/p>\n
The election is expected to result in a legitimate government
\nwhich can accommodate the interests of numerous political groups.
\nMany want to see a fundamental change in all aspects of life
\nafter 32 years of Soeharto's authoritarian rule.<\/p>\n
To ensure a fair and democratic election, numerous poll
\nwatchdogs have sprung up. World organizations like the United
\nNations Development Programs (UNDP) and concerned countries have
\noffered financial assistance.<\/p>\n
Several foreign monitoring groups have also sent
\nrepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Over the past three months or so, the following poll watchdogs
\nhave been established: the Rectors Forum, the University Network
\nFor Free Elections (Unfrel) and the Society Network for Election
\nMonitoring (JAMPPI). Local activists have also formed their own
\nmonitoring groups, such as ones based at Gadjah Mada University
\nand Atmajaya University.<\/p>\n
The oldest grouping is the Independent Elections Monitoring
\nCommittee, which was formed to monitor the 1997 elections
\norganized by the Soeharto regime.<\/p>\n
The hasty formation of the numerous poll watchdogs has raised
\ndoubts about their credibility. Skeptics say that some were
\nmotivated by the money that international donors offered.<\/p>\n
\"I'm afraid some activists are busy fighting for money rather
\nthan monitoring the election process,\" says Rofiq, a 27-year-old
\nemployee of a private company.<\/p>\n
Pratikno, a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University's School of
\nSociopolitical Science, is one of the observers who doubt the
\npoll monitoring activists' readiness.<\/p>\n
He says the numerous monitoring groups do not coordinate
\nregarding the locations they plan to observe. Many have misplaced
\npriorities. They concentrate on Java, while areas prone to
\nrigging are mostly outside of Java.<\/p>\n
Some focus on the violations of electoral laws perpetrated by
\nmilitary officers and government officials, but overlook gross
\nviolations committed by the contesting political parties.<\/p>\n
He points out that another major weakness was the activists'
\nlack of knowledge about electoral laws and the sociopolitical
\nsituation of the area they would monitor.<\/p>\n
Limited resources<\/p>\n
Unfrel has recruited 920 volunteers from various universities
\nin Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Danang Arafa, coordinator of Unfrel activists in Yogyakarta,
\nsaid the students were enthusiastic about taking part in the poll
\nmonitoring activities.<\/p>\n
\"Some joined Unfrel because they want to earn money and others
\nwant to get experience while they are on vacation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta province, Unfrel has concentrated its activities
\non monitoring campaigning in Bantul, Wonosari, Sleman, Kulon
\nProgo, Gunungkidul and in Yogyakarta mayoralty. It refused to
\nuncover its findings for publication because observations needed
\nto be cross-checked.<\/p>\n
Unfrel in Yogyakarta received a Rp 13.8 million budget. The
\nlarge number of volunteers has forced it to halve the planned Rp
\n30,000 transport allowance for each volunteer.<\/p>\n
It will watch vote casting in 1,050 polling places on election
\nday in Sleman, Kulon Progo and Bantul regencies. It is unable to
\nobserve polling in Gunungkidul and Yogyakarta mayoralty due to
\ninsufficient volunteers.<\/p>\n
Unfrel volunteers will use walkie-talkies. In the villages,
\nand there will be mobile teams in charge of collecting data from
\npolling places to be pooled at headquarters.<\/p>\n
So far, Unfrel had established 31 command posts in the city
\nwith none so far established at village level, Danang said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Rectors Forum in Yogyakarta claimed it had
\nrecruited 5,000 volunteers, but only 2,500 of those had been
\ntrained. It planned to recruit another 2,000 volunteers.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the forum, Sabirin, said each volunteer was
\nentitled to accommodation and transport allowances. He declined
\nto divulge the allowance amounts.<\/p>\n
During the campaign period, from May 19 through June 4, the
\nforum has mobilized 1,500 volunteers to monitor activities.
\nSabirin said 50 percent of the volunteers were college students,
\n30 percent were teachers and 20 percent were people from other
\nbackgrounds. It has so far reported 29 cases of violation of
\ncampaigning rules across the Yogyakarta province.<\/p>\n
With 7,000 volunteers, the Rectors Forum means to monitor
\nevery polling place in Yogyakarta. They will report findings to
\nthe forum's headquarters in Bandung, which will assess the
\ngeneral election based on findings from across the country.<\/p>\n
The KIPP volunteers in Yogyakarta are probably the best
\nprepared. It has conducted 20 training sessions for its 1,500
\nvolunteers of various professional backgrounds. KIPP has forged
\nlinks with Sanata Dharma Catholic University, which allows its
\nstudents to perform poll monitoring in place of their regular
\nfield service.<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta KIPP spokesman Abdur Rozaki said the committee does
\nnot promise volunteers any financial rewards because of a lack of
\nfunds, but workers do receive a transportation allowance.<\/p>\n
As of Monday, KIPP had reported 70 cases concerning violation
\nof campaigning rules, including misuse of places of worship for
\ncampaign purposes, village chiefs manipulating data on voters,
\nmoney politics by the Golkar Party and the People's Sovereignty
\nParty (PDR) and party supporters carrying firearms while
\ncampaigning.<\/p>\n
It has established command posts in the mayoralty and the four
\nregencies across Yogyakarta province. It has also organized
\nvarious seminars and TV talk shows on the elections.<\/p>\n
Due to the limited number of volunteers, KIPP Yogyakarta will
\nmonitor only selected polling places.<\/p>\n
According to Rozaki, as of Monday, only 300 of the KIPP
\nvolunteers had received accreditation from the Yogyakarta
\nElections Committee.<\/p>",
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