Feisal attacks plan for independent poll watchdog
Feisal attacks plan for independent poll watchdog
JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung has asked non-governmental organizations to scrap their plans to set up independent election watchdogs, saying their move is unconstitutional.
"The 1945 Constitution makes no mention of independent electoral monitoring committees. It is obviously unconstitutional," he said in Semarang, Central Java, yesterday.
The existing electoral supervision committee under the National Election Institute remains the only legitimate watchdog, he said.
The plan to set up an independent poll committee was initiated by political activists who are concerned about the widespread government pressure and vote rigging in past elections.
Many chapters of the United Development Party (PPP) in the provinces have openly threatened to boycott next year's election unless the government, which backs Golkar, guarantees fairness. Critics say that the current electoral system favors Golkar.
Maj. Gen. Suwarno Adiwidjoyo, assistant to ABRI's chief of sociopolitical affairs, said the official electoral supervision committee's independence is impeccable because it consists of representatives from all the three contestants, PPP, Golkar and PDI (the Indonesian Democratic Party).
"Everyone should know that it would be unconstitutional to form another supervision committee," he told The Post in Semarang.
Meanwhile, political observers J.E. Sahetapy and Aribowo argued that the independent watchdog is necessary to dispel doubts about the government's impartiality.
Sahetapy said in Surabaya that the demands to form an independent poll watch suggests that people saw something wrong in past elections.
"If the government insists on rejecting this initiative, people will become even more skeptical about its honesty in the upcoming election," the law expert said.
He pointed out that the government has never felt it necessary to give account of itself to the people, after organizing, interpreting, and consistently winning elections.
None of the numerous violations reported by the PDI and PPP to the authorities in each general election held since 1971 had ever reached the courts of law, he said.
Aribowo said ABRI is strongly opposed to the NGO activists' initiative because it traditionally supports Golkar.
Golkar was founded by ABRI in 1964 to contain the growing influence of the now outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was blamed for the bloody coup attempt in 1965.
"It is theoretically true that all the three contestants are included in the official electoral supervision committee. But in practice, PPP and PDI representatives' position in the field is made difficult," he said.
The political scholar said the authorities would sweep under the carpet any violations committed by Golkar, but would prosecute those made by the PPP and PDI, he said.
In the West Javan capital of Bandung, Abdurrahman Wahid expressed doubt whether the idea to form independent poll watchdogs will result in anything positive.
The chairman of the 35 million-member Nahdlatul Ulama said it was unlikely that either the government or the activists would lay down their arms.
"One camp wants to build it but the other is determined to destroy it because it will only undermine the establishment. I think the plan only creates a new problem," he told journalists.
Gus Dur, as Abdurrahman is better known, was one of the many prominent public figures rumored to be setting up a second independent poll watch dog until he denied it yesterday.
He said he meant to be consistent with Nahdlatul Ulama's resolution to stay away from politics.
"Ideally, such a watchdog is needed. But is it workable in practice ? What if it is used by foreigners to apply pressure on Indonesia ?" he said.
He argued that technically, it will be impossible to set up the independent body and make it function in 1997 because it will be a complicated job to determine its composition and its working mechanism. (har/15/17/pan)