Ex-prisoners eligible to vote

Ex-prisoners eligible to vote

TEGAL, Central Java: The authorities have restored the right of some 9,500 former political prisoners to vote in the general elections.

The former prisoners, who were involved in the abortive Sept. 1965 coup, will join some 770,000 other residents of Tegal in casting their ballots in the 1997 elections.

The 9,500 people have served varying lengths of time in prison for different degrees of involvement in the coup.

According to the head of the local social and political affairs, Redianto, the number of people eligible to vote may increase because those who will reach 17 just before the general elections have yet to be registered. (wah/swe)