11 poll monitors register with accreditation body

11 poll monitors register with accreditation body

JAKARTA (JP): Eleven local election monitoring bodies
registered with the accreditation committee of the General
Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday.

The KPU will take three days to check that the monitoring
bodies fulfilled administrative requirements before licensing
them to conduct election monitoring activities.

KPU chairman Rudini said that if they qualified, each poll
watchdog would be allowed to observe all stages of the election,
but warned them against meddling in the election process.

"Violations of the nonintervention clause will cost them their
licenses," Rudini said.

The first registered monitoring bodies included Pollwatch
Indonesia, Institute for Strategic Analysis (Inses), Independent
Poll Monitoring Network of Youth and Student Solidarity in West
Kalimantan (JPPIS-Kalbar), Civil Advocacy Service (Case), the
Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), the University
Network for Free and Fair Elections (Unfrel) and Action
Democratic Study Forum (Forsad).

Foreign observers also will be subject to KPU accreditation.

KPU will close the registration period for poll watchdogs on
May 31.

Rudini said no foreign observers had registered with the KPU.
The United States-based Carter Center and the European Union have
shown interest in monitoring the June 7 general election.

"All poll monitors will be given full access to watch the vote
counting at the poll center (in Jakarta). They won't be able to
do the same thing at the lower administrative levels, but will
receive the vote counting results," Rudini said.

He welcomed the enthusiasm of the 11 poll monitoring bodies,
saying they would help make his job easier.

Pollwatch Indonesia claimed to have 20,000 volunteers who
would be posted in all 27 of the country's provinces, while Inses
was set to deploy 2,950 volunteers. JPPIS-Kalbar said it sought
to register 7,000 volunteers to monitor the polls in West
Kalimantan.

The 12,000-strong Case, meanwhile, will operate in five
mayoralties in Jakarta.

Unfrel is seeking to recruit 150,000 volunteers to be posted
in 23 provinces. It began its three-day course for volunteer
trainers on Monday.

Also on Monday, Norway provided a US$495,000 technical
assistance grant for Indonesia's election process through the
United Nations Development Program.

Despite reports of unprepared voter registration officials
across the country, Rudini expressed guarded optimism that at
least 50 percent of 130 million eligible voters would turn out
for the June 7 balloting.

Elections committee officials will begin visiting eligible
voters on Tuesday in an effort to boost voter turnout.

"Even if the number of voters is less than 50 percent, the
polls will go on as scheduled. It is okay to see a low turnout,
as long as the general election is legitimate," he said.

KPU member Andi Mallarangeng, however, predicted that at least
70 percent of eligible voters would take part in the election.

"We do not set a certain target for voter turnout, but I
believe that in this new era people will be anxious to vote. They
understand their votes will decide the fate of the nation," he
said.

Andi based his estimate on a recent survey conducted by Asia
Foundation which revealed that 91 percent of respondents said
they would vote in the election.

The 53-member KPU also agreed on Monday that legislative
candidates must at least be junior high school graduates.

On election security, the KPU will sign an agreement with the
National Police and the State Intelligence Coordinating Agency to
safeguard the election process, including the printing and
distribution of ballots.

Around 400 million ballots for the three electoral levels will
be needed for the June 7 election.

On Monday, the KPU still was undecided on the allocation of
legislative seats due to a lack of population data from the
Ministry of Home Affairs.

In Yogyakarta, political observer Cornelis Lay of Gadjah Mada
University suggested the KPU delay the polls in troubled Aceh and
East Timor, but hold the balloting as scheduled in other riot-hit
areas. (edt/44)