Wed, 26 Feb 1997

Call for campaign boycott gains wider support

SURAKARTA (JP): A United Development Party (PPP) leader's call to boycott the upcoming election campaign gained wider support yesterday.

Party leaders in six regencies across the province threw their weight behind the call in a bid to pressure the government to revise the controversial campaign rules.

PPP and Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leaders charge that the rules were made by the government to benefit the dominant political organization, Golkar.

The call for the boycott was made initially by the head of the Surakarta branch of the Moslem-oriented PPP, Mudrick Setiawan Sangidu.

It has been backed by PPP executives in Boyolali, Klaten, Wonogiri, Sragen, Sukoharjo and Karanganyar, Sangidu said.

In a joint statement, they said the campaign rules hurt PPP and PDI interests, hampered democratization and did not guarantee a fair election.

PPP, Golkar and PDI will contest 425 of the House of Representatives seats in the May 29 election. Campaigning is scheduled from April 27 through May 23.

PPP objects to the rule that requires contestants to register all vehicles to be used in the campaign with the authorities at least a week in advance.

The party also rejects the rule that compels campaigners to submit their draft broadcast speeches to electoral officials for editing.

The minority PDI has aired similar objections to the regulations. The government claims the rules were made after dialog with party leaders.

Karmani, chairman of the Central Java PPP chapter, said the party would not hesitate to ignore the campaign if the party's objections were ignored.

The final decision would rest in the hands of PPP's central executive board, he said.

The rule which allocates only nine days to each contestant is likely to be a big problem for a small party like PPP but not for Golkar, which has millions of activists.

The registration of vehicles to be used and the ban on people campaigning in more than one province are also impossible to implement, he said.

"You can imagine how chaotic it would be if security authorities stop a rally involving thousands of people to check whether the vehicles had been registered and whether anyone from other areas is participating.

"A lot of rules in the government regulations are simply illogical," he said.

In a series of decrees on election campaign, the government has banned mass outdoor rallies and motorcades, and has encouraged contestants to organize political discussions with supporters instead.

State-run TVRI is being made available to all three groups to air their political messages nationwide. But campaign material must first be approved by the election authorities. (har/pan)