C. Java Panwaslu members sworn in

C. Java Panwaslu members sworn in

SEMARANG, Central Java: One hundred and seventy-five members
of the Central Java Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu)
were officially installed in the provincial capital of Semarang
on Wednesday.

They represent 35 regencies and cities in the province, with
each appointed five members.

The sworn-in Panwaslu members include scholars and lecturers,
journalists, prosecutors, police officers and community leaders.

Provincial Panwaslu chairman Hidayat Nur Sardini said in a
speech at a ceremony to inaugurate the committee members that
their job of supervising the 2004 elections would be tough.

"In 1999, Central Java recorded at least 195 electoral
violations, of which less than 20 percent were settled," he said.

Most of the cases remained unresolved by police and
prosecutors, Hidayat said.

He said he hoped that with the involvement of media and
university representatives and community figures, the committee
would perform better than during the 1999 elections.--JP