Canberra sees fair polls in RI

Canberra sees fair polls in RI

CANBERRA (Reuters): Australian foreign affairs officials said
on Friday they were pleased by the lack of violence in the run-up
to Indonesia's landmark national elections and saw no reason why
the poll would not be free and fair.

They believe the level of violence in the campaign for the
June 7 elections, Indonesia's first democratic poll in more than
40 years, had been lower than that experienced in other regional
democracies despite its turbulent recent history.

"One of the things that's been remarkable in the campaign so
far is the low level of violence," a Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (DFAT) official told reporters.

"It's a low level of violence compared with countries we
regard as democracies, such as India."

Indonesian election officials have suggested they might
suspend voting in the restive province of Aceh due to growing
violence there, while concerns are also high in Ambon, Irian Jaya
and East Timor.

Australia has pledged A$15 million (US$9.75 million) in
electoral support for its nearest northern neighbor. It will also
provide 25 electoral officials to a group of between 350 and 400
international observers.

DFAT officials said none of the Australian observers would be
deployed in Ambon, Aceh, Irian Jaya or East Timor, partly because
of security concerns.

The path to the first poll in more than a generation for
Indonesia's 130 million voters began when student demonstrations
and widespread discontent led to the resignation of long-ruling
president Suharto in May of last year.

A combustible mix of 48 parties is limited to a campaign
period stretching from May 19 to June 6, with no one party among
10 major contenders expected to gain an outright majority.

The parties are enjoying relative campaign freedom after years
of political suppression. The election was also called on the
heels of a harsh economic recession.

The observers, under the broad umbrella of the United Nations
Development Programme, come mainly from the European Union and
United States and will report to their own governments as well as
to Indonesian election officials.

Australian officials say extensive fraud minimization measures
are underway and believe that a workable election system has been
put in place for what they described as the biggest logistical
exercise in Southeast Asia in decades.

"Our judgment at the moment is that there's every possibility
that there'll be a poll that's free and fair," another DFAT
official said. "At the end of the day it's going to be the
Indonesia people who decide whether it's been credible."