Foreign poll observers welcomed

Foreign poll observers welcomed

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights welcomed on Saturday the presence of foreign observers in the first post- Soeharto elections scheduled for June, saying they would help speed up the democratization process in the country.

"Their presence could help develop understanding on standards that should be achieved in the elections," chairman of the rights body, Marzuki Darusman, was quoted by Antara as saying.

Some 48 political parties, including one banned under the Soeharto government -- the Democratic People's Party (PRD) -- were on Thursday deemed eligible to take part in the polls.

United States Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, who completed a two-day visit to Jakarta on Friday, has said that she believed President B.J. Habibie was committed to holding a free and fair general election after his taking office when veteran president Soeharto stepped down amid widespread unrest last May.

Habibie had even inquired whether former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who has led election monitoring teams in several countries, might come to observe the June 7 polls, Albright said.

Albright expressed hope that the government and poll officials would do their best to prevent the elections and the electoral campaign from becoming violent or degenerating into vote- buying. (byg)