PPP, PDI not impressed with poll reforms<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) and the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI) say they are not impressed by
\nthe government's gesture to strengthen monitoring of the voting
\nand ballot counting at the next general election in 1997.<\/p>\n
B.N. Marbun of the PDI and Jusuf Syakir of the PPP said the
\nnew presidential decree on electoral rules are not be adequate to
\nredress flaws in the implementation of general elections.<\/p>\n
Political observer Ridwan Saidi called the gesture as quick
\nfixes which failed to touch the substance of the matters.<\/p>\n
The dominant political group Golkar however hailed the move as
\nanother step to improve democracy in the country.<\/p>\n
Golkar chairman Harmoko and legislator Oka Mahendra said the
\ndecree as proof of the government's commitment to bring
\ndemocratization and improve the quality of general elections.<\/p>\n
\"Golkar has for so long wanted an improvement in the quality
\nof the elections,\" Harmoko told reporters yesterday. \"This decree
\nwill improve the elections' quality, just the way Golkar and the
\npolitical parties want.\"<\/p>\n
PPP and PDI have been campaigning for a reform of the
\nelectoral system which they say virtually ensures victory for
\nGolkar. One of their chief complaint is over restriction that
\nthey cannot set up offices at village level and their activities
\nare virtually confined to regency towns. Golkar however can reach
\nthe mass rural bases because the village heads usually are
\nmembers of the ruling political group.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto on April signed the decree revising a
\nnumber of procedures in the general elections. The decree gives
\npolitical parties greater roles as it enables them to appoint
\ntheir members to witness vote casting and ballot counting.<\/p>\n
One new rule allows a party to appoint its representatives
\nfrom other districts if it could not find anyone to represent it
\nin the said district.<\/p>\n
This has been a common problem for PPP and PDI, particularly
\nin remote areas. In the past, if the parties could not send their
\nrepresentatives, the election committee would appoint them for
\nthe parties, raising suspicions about the objectivity.<\/p>\n
Another regulation says that the election committees would be
\nformed at village levels instead of regency level as in the past.<\/p>\n
Jusuf, Marbun and Ridwan, see the changes as only grazing at
\nthe surface. Interviewed separately, the three expressed their
\nbelief that what counts more is that the Golkar-dominated
\nbureaucracy ensures fair play in every step of the way.<\/p>\n
\"The decree doesn't introduce any significant change,\" Jusuf
\nsaid. \"The only difference is that the witnesses for vote casting
\nand ballot counting can now be appointed from a nearby sub-
\ndistrict, that's all\".<\/p>\n
\"I'm disappointed with this decree, because the fact is that
\nour demands are still largely ignored,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have been making the same demands for the last 10 years,
\nit's like we're playing a scratch record,\" Jusuf said, adding
\nthat PPP wanted the bureaucracy to also cut red-tape which have
\nhampered the participation of PPP and PDI activists in monitoring
\nof general elections.<\/p>\n
The existing regulations, for instance, stipulate that an
\nappointee from PPP or PDI have to obtain the approval of the
\nregent in a certain constituency before they can become witness
\nof vote casting and ballot counting.<\/p>\n
B.N. Marbun said that political parties should be included in
\nevery step of the general election process.<\/p>\n
Only with this total involvement can activists of PDI and PPP
\nbetter monitor the general elections, and prevent violations, he
\ntold The Jakarta Post and Kompas.<\/p>\n
\"In practice, our witnesses in ballot counting were often
\nignored even when they saw violations and protested,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Marbun said manipulations in previous elections occurred from
\nthe first step of voters' registration to the last step, namely
\nthe ballot counting and reporting.<\/p>\n
\"I think we even need to appoint people to monitor the
\ncomputers used for counting the ballots, because we have seen how
\nvotes for PDI, for instance, were manipulated so that they
\ndecreased,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Oka Mahendra believed the decree will help reduce violations
\nand ensure that a more democratic election process occur.<\/p>\n
\"Golkar doesn't see any problem with this decree,\" he told the
\nPost. \"We want to see continuous improvement in general
\nelections, so that we can be closer to our dreams of democracy.\"<\/p>\n
\"Golkar always wishes to win general elections fairly,\" he
\nsaid. (swe\/pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ppp-pdi-not-impressed-with-poll-reforms-1447893297",
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