Candidates ready 2 million monitors

Candidates ready 2 million monitors

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja/Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Candidates contending the upcoming election are moving to
minimize vote-rigging by fielding around two million monitors for
the Sept. 20 runoff.

Incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim
Muzadi will face Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and partner Jusuf Kalla
in the direct presidential election.

Megawati's campaign team member Heri Akhmadi said on Friday
that his camp would field two monitors at each poll station, most
of whom would come from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party.

There will be around 581,393 polling stations set up across
the country for the election.

"We have decided to deploy two monitors at each poll station
who will come from two coalition members that won in the area,"
Heri said.

PDI-P has signed an agreement with Golkar, Islam-based United
Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) to
support Megawati in the Sept. 20 election.

Aside from the coalition members, the Megawati-Hasyim pair is
also supported by the Reform Star Party (PBR) and the Marhaenisme
Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI Marhaenisme).

Under existing regulations, monitors sent by campaign teams
are given copies of the manual vote-count from the polling
stations.

The monitors are also allowed to observe data entry at the
district level. They could raise objections on how the manual
vote counting has proceeded. Poll workers must immediately make
corrections if errors are found.

In the absence of a monitor, voters could raise any objections
with the head of the polling station organizers (KPPS).

Heri said that the coalition would pay for any costs incurred
by the monitors. He did not say how much his coalition had put
aside.

He also said that the Megawati camp would also maintain its
own tabulation at the headquarters of both PDI-P and Golkar.

"Data from both offices will complement each other, making it
easier to detect any irregularities in the counting," Heri said.

The Susilo camp also held a preparatory meeting on Friday to
ensure that all team members were ready to monitor the election
to avoid possible vote manipulation.

Speaking after the closed-door meeting, Kalla said that the
meeting wanted to ensure that all one-million monitors already
assigned by their campaign teams could carry out their tasks
well.

Also present in the meeting were Hatta Rajasa of the National
Mandate Party (PAN), Alwi Shihab of the National Awakening Party
(PKB), Hidayat Nur Wahid and Anis Matta of the Prosperous Justice
Party (PKS), Eddy Sudrajat of the Indonesian Justice and Unity
Party (PKPI), Jusril Ihza Mahendra and M.S. Ka'ban of the
Crescent Star Party (PBB) and former attorney general Marsillam
Simanjuntak.

"We have to ensure that the political machinery is working
well ahead of the election day on Sept. 20," Kalla told the press
after the meeting.

"We discussed administrative matters, including permits for
the monitors," Kalla said, adding that they had also set up a
team of lawyers to monitor the ballot counting from the first day
of vote counting to prevent possible manipulation.