Foreign election observers welcomed

JAKARTA (JP): An independent poll watchdog activist and a politician said yesterday they could not wait for the government to keep its promise to allow foreigners to monitor the May 29 election.

They agreed that the promise highlighted the government's confidence that the election would be clean, honest and fair.

Mulyana W. Kusumah, the Independent Election Monitoring Committee's secretary-general, said the Indonesian government wanted to show the world there would be nothing to hide in the forthcoming election.

"It's a progressive move that will improve the government's public accountability," he told reporters.

However, Mulyana said the decision to invite foreign observers should not be seen as anything unusual.

"It's a global phenomenon that has already happened in Thailand, the Philippines and several other democratic countries."

Last week Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., who also chairs the General Elections Institute, guaranteed that foreign observers would have access to monitor all stages of the elections, including visiting polling booths, on May 29.

But the government has yet to make it clear who it will invite.

According to Mulyana, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in the United States called the Global Exchange had applied to the Indonesian government to observe the election.

He also said that other NGOs, along with several other independent observers in European countries like Finland and Sweden would follow suit.

Mulyana said the government should also recognize the independent Indonesian watchdog.

Hadimulyo of the United Development Party agreed with Mulyana, saying that if foreigners were to be allowed to observe the various stages of the general election, Indonesians should be permitted to do the same.

"A general election is like a family party," he told The Jakarta Post.

"If the family is determined to invite neighbors, why should its own children be shoved away? Does it make sense to trust other people more than your own children?"

The Independent Election Monitoring Committee, chaired by the former chief editor of the now-banned Tempo magazine, Goenawan Mohamad, has recruited about 2,000 volunteers to observe the election, according to Mulyana.

It will focus its activities in Pematang Siantar, Palembang, Lampung, Jakarta, Cianjur, Semarang, Malang, and Ujungpandang, he said.

In a statement made available to the Post, the committee reiterated its "nonpartisanship" principle, vowing to stay neutral and objective.

It also vowed to avoid political activities that are against the existing rules, norms, and laws on general elections. (aan/amd)