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."