135 Papua Panswaslu members installed

JAYAPURA, Papua: The chairman of the Papua General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), Marudut Hasugian, installed 135 committee members for 27 districts across the province on Saturday.

"They consist of 81 lecturers, non-governmental organization activists and journalists, and 54 police officers and prosecutors," he said.

Eight of the new committee members are women.

Commenting on the small number of female members, Marudut said only a few women had applied for the committee, and that several districts had no female candidates at all.

He added that the process of selecting Panwaslu members for Kaimana district was still underway.

Marudut told the committee members to work hard to supervise the 2004 legislative elections, to ensure the polls are fair and democratic. --JP