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)