Election watchdog says campaigning undemocratic
Election watchdog says campaigning undemocratic
JAKARTA (JP): The Independent Election Monitoring Committee
said yesterday that the 27-day election campaign was not held in
accordance with democratic principles.
In its four-page report on its monitoring of the campaign in
47 towns, the committee said loopholes in election rules had led
to irregularities during the campaign.
"There has been an obvious trend of electoral fraud, but no
clear legal consequences have been imposed on the perpetrators,"
the report says.
It was read by committee presidium member, Saud Sirait.
The committee was referring to government officials who, as
members of the dominant political organization Golkar, abused
their power to help it snatch another landslide win.
"Golkar deployed various state-owned resources in a bid to
maintain its majority," it says.
The committee said the decree issued by the head of the
Islamic Registrar Office in Dolok Pangaribuan, North Sumatra, on
May 1, ordering a mobilization of worshipers in mosques and
churches to support Golkar was an example of power being abused.
Many cabinet ministers were named Golkar legislative
candidates and campaigners.
These people used their offices' facilities, instead of Golkar
facilities, to issue campaign rally invitations to the press, the
report says.
The committee said state-owned television station TVRI
allotted most of its election coverage to Golkar.
During 18 days of TV monitoring, the committee found that
TVRI's coverage of Golkar rallies totaled 258 minutes and two
seconds.
Coverage of United Development Party (PPP) and Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) rallies were given 120 minutes and two
seconds and 118 minutes and 25 seconds respectively.
The unrecognized poll committee lamented the government's
failure to respond to complaints of irregularities by PPP and
PDI.
It also criticized the government for failing to give enough
room for political innovation which emerged in the form of a
supporters alliance between PPP and supporters of ousted PDI
leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.
"Political innovation from a grassroots level needs
recognition within the political system, or it will cause mass
violence," the committee said.
The committee listed more than 200 riots that broke out during
the election campaign because of "inadequate political room and
inadequate socialization of nonviolent values and the
accumulation of social frustration."
"Learning from what happened during the election campaign, we
suggest the People's Consultative Assembly, which will convene
next year, legislate to guarantee a democratic general election,"
the committee said.
The committee has recruited almost 8,000 volunteers, including
high school students, to monitor voting in 18 towns Thursday.
More than 124 million people are eligible to vote.
The government says 95 percent of the vote will be counted and
the results made public within 24 hours of polling booths closing
at 2 p.m. Thursday
The committee will open its monitoring center tomorrow at its
headquarters on Jl. Dewi Sartika in East Jakarta, and is expected
to announce its first monitoring results Friday.
The government has said it welcomes the committee's activities
on election day, but has warned it not to interfere with the work
of the official Election Supervision Committee. (amd)