Double-perforation debacle overshadows election: EU

Double-perforation debacle overshadows election: EU

M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM)
expressed concern on Thursday over the double-perforation
debacle, and recounts at many polling stations, which had
overshadowed the peaceful election.

EU election monitoring team head Glyn Ford said the
unintentional double-perforation of up to 40 million ballots in
Monday's presidential election allowed for possible
irregularities in the tallying process.

"We will be watching recounts carefully, through our long-term
observers," he said in Jakarta.

Ford, also a member of the European parliament, said that
although the General Elections Commission (KPU) had resolved the
problem by issuing an instruction to validate ballots that had
dual perforations, the new ruling was not clear.

However, Ford said, technical problems did not taint the
integrity of the country's first direct presidential election,
adding that he perceived pluralistic competition between rival
candidates.

"The peaceful campaign period and polling day are to be
praised, and, I believe that this (condition) will continue until
September, when the runoff takes place," he said.

In a written statement, the EU-EOM said that the overall
assessment of the polls was less positive than that of the April
5 legislative election.

"At only 78 percent of the polling stations visited were
voters' fingers properly inked after voting, against 86 percent
of those visited in the legislative election," it said.

The monitoring team said that at 21 percent of polling
stations visited, some voters were permitted to cast their
ballots without voter cards, compared to 16 percent in the
previous election.

The team was also concerned about what it called the
"partiality" of state-owned television broadcaster TVRI and
private television station Metro-TV, which, according to the
team, had demonstrated bias in favor of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

The EU EOM deployed 230 watchers to the country's 32
provinces, making it the largest foreign monitoring team
overseeing the election.

Other foreign watchers from the Australian Election Observer
Team commended the way in which the election was orchestrated,
calling it "free and fair".

"The Australian team did not consider minor incidents ... as
affecting the overall national integrity of the electoral
process," said a statement from the team that was made available
to The Jakarta Post.

The team said the Indonesian government and the General
Elections Commission (KPU) should be congratulated.

Led by member of parliament Chris Gallus, the team deployed
members to polling stations across the country, including in
Java, Sumatra, East Kalimantan, Bali and East Nusa Tenggara.

Also on Tuesday, Megawati expressed gratitude to the nation's
people who had made the election a success. The President is
placed second in the provisional tally.

"I am very proud ... we have proven our political maturity,"
she said.