Too early to reject poll results: Major parties<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Major parties said on Sunday it was too early to reject the
\nresults of the April 5 elections and called on the public to
\nremain calm while waiting for the manual count.<\/p>\n
Asserting that any statement rejecting the election results
\nwould only spark confusion among the public, the parties
\nsuggested that any disputes over the poll results be settled in
\nthe Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
\"A previous statement (rejecting the polls) was simply a wake-
\nup call for the General Elections Commission (KPU) to deal with
\nany fraud in the vote counting,\" National Awakening Party (PKB)
\nleader Alwi Shihab told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said the PKB as a party had not taken an official stance
\nregarding the election results. He said the PKB's stance on the
\nissue should be formed through the party's mechanisms, not on an
\nindividual's wishes.<\/p>\n
\"We know we have to wait for the manual count, and should we
\nbe dissatisfied we will go to the Constitutional Court,\" Alwi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The manual counting will be used by the KPU to determine the
\nofficial results of the legislative election, which will be
\nannounced at the end of the month.<\/p>\n
A similar opinion was voiced by Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)
\nleader Hidayat Nurwahid, who said the party was not in a position
\nto reject the election results.<\/p>\n
\"Whether we accept or reject the results will require further
\ndiscussion, but we have to criticize the ongoing tabulation,\"
\nNurwahid said.<\/p>\n
Both party leaders denounced a joint statement from several
\nparty leaders who gathered here on Saturday to reject the
\nelection results because of alleged vote rigging. Claiming to
\nrepresent 19 of the 24 parties that contested the elections,
\nincluding the United Development Party (PPP) and the Democratic
\nParty, they called for a revote.<\/p>\n
PKB chief patron Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid and PKS executive
\nFachri Hamzah were among the participants of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Both Hidayat and Alwi said that those people involved issued
\nthe statement not in the capacity as party representatives.<\/p>\n
Despite the protest, KPU continued the computerized vote
\ncounting, which saw Golkar Party take over the lead from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with 15,540,612
\nvotes or 20.47 percent of over 75.9 million votes counted
\nnationwide as of 10:30 p.m. on Sunday. PDI-P was second with
\n15,388,773 votes, followed by PKB, PPP and the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
KPU members Hamid Awaluddin asked that all parties wait for
\nthe results of the manual ballot count before deciding whether to
\naccept or reject the election results. He added KPU had invited
\nleaders of the parties to a meeting on Tuesday to resolve any
\nmisunderstandings over the computerized ballot count.<\/p>\n
Presidential hopeful Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the patron of
\nthe Democratic Party, called on the KPU to resolve the ongoing
\ndispute over the ballot count, but underlined that his party
\nwould respect the ongoing tabulation process.<\/p>\n
\"The KPU should respond to the criticism but should there be
\nproblems, they should be handled through the proper mechanisms,\"
\nhe said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Golkar party executive Slamet Effendy Yusuf said the criticism
\nreflected that some politicians could not accept their parties'
\nfailure to meet pre-election targets.<\/p>\n
\"It should be kept in mind that official results are based on
\nthe manual count. Any statements rejecting the election results
\nwill only confuse the public,\" Slamet said.<\/p>\n
PDI-P's deputy secretary-general, Pramono Anung, said the
\nparty would wait for the results from the manual count, but
\nunderlined that it would accept whatever the results were.<\/p>\n
He reminded people that the computerized tabulation was only
\nmeant to satisfy the public's demand for real-time information on
\nthe results of the elections.<\/p>\n
Separately, a group of scholars and leaders of 20 religious
\ninstitutions regretted the decision by some politicians to reject
\nthe election outcome.<\/p>\n
\"This will only create panic, destroy democracy and
\ndisrupt the unity of the country,\" Azyumardi Azra, the rector
\nof Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said during a
\npress conference.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/too-early-to-reject-poll-results-major-parties-1447893297",
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