Complaints about voting hitches pour in

JAKARTA (JP): Complaints about voting hitches poured in yesterday from several quarters but mostly from the minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP).

PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum said his party would remain on guard against possible rigging.

Casting his ballot near his home in Widyachandra housing complex in South Jakarta, Ismail said there had been reports from PPP branches that electoral committee officials distributed ballot papers that had already been marked.

PPP's Riau branch complained that a village head had voted twice at different polling stations.

PDI chairman Soerjadi said many PDI volunteers were barred from being party' scrutineers.

"This has happened for years. Our scrutineers were intimidated ahead of voting," he said.

He said his supporters had been intimidated by supporters of his rival Megawati Soekarnoputri, the woman he ousted as party chairwoman last year.

Despite the internal conflict Soerjadi was optimistic the party would improve its vote. The PDI had its best showing in 1992 with 56 seats in the House of Representatives.

But Golkar chairman Harmoko shrugged off reports that many polling stations did not have PPP and PDI scrutineers.

The polling was valid despite the absence of one or two scrutineers, Harmoko said.

"Vote counting can go ahead even if a polling station was not attended by one or two observers of certain parties," he said, quoting Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M.

Ulemas

Harmoko voted at the polling booth in Rengasdengklok, West Java.

He said Golkar would hold a meeting at its headquarters Monday to evaluate the party's election performance.

Moslem leaders were quick yesterday to explain away comment's by the Indonesian Council of Ulemas's (MUI) chairman, Hasan Basri, that Moslems would be sinning if they did not vote.

While offering different arguments to justify or reject the idea the ulemas called for the issue to be explored to avoid misunderstanding.

MUI's Ibrahim Hosen and Ali Yafie, the Islamic Propagation Council of Indonesia's Hussein Umar and the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity's Ahmad Sumargono were interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Hassan was quoted by Antara as saying that "those who do not exercise their right to vote or invalidate ballots spoil Allah's divine gift of grace"..

Hussein, who is a PPP House of Representatives candidate, said voting was a democratic mechanism to establish people's sovereignty.

"Every citizen has the right to vote, if he doesn't use it, that's his right too," he said.

"What if a person just can't bring himself to vote because his conscience says not to vote?" he asked.

"It's the responsibility of the campaigners to convince people to vote," he said.

Ibrahim Hosen said that according to Islamic teaching, people have to deliberate and reach consensus and that deliberation is what differentiates a democratic system from a dictatorial one.

"The affairs of a government have to be conducted through consensus. This deliberation is a must, and you would be sinning if you didn't do it," he said.

He said that a general election could be seen a means to reach consensus and therefore had to be followed.

But he said sin "was too strong a word".

Sumargono said not voting was not a sin.

"Ungrateful for Allah's grace maybe, but not a sin," he said.

"We have for so many years enjoyed a stable life. If there's dissatisfaction over the political order, it's understandable. But there are other ways to express it," he said.

But he said there were still many things to be grateful for.

"If it is said that not voting is tantamount to being ungrateful for Allah's bounty, it's acceptable," he said.

He said the word "sin" conjured a relationship between a person and his Creator.

"You sin if you do something that is against Allah's will. Take the question of Islamic alms and paying tax," he said. "If you don't pay your tax you are not sinning, but you're not a good citizen. On the other hand, you sin if you don't pay your alms".

Ali Yafie, who is also a Golkar campaigner, said Hasan Basri was only calling on people to be good citizens and vote.

"Establishing a good state (nation) is one of many religious endeavors," he said. (swe/05/03/12)