Goenawan chairs new independent poll watchdog

Goenawan chairs new independent poll watchdog

JAKARTA (JP): More than 50 journalists, lawyers, statesmen and activists founded the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) yesterday in defiance of a military warning that their move is "unconstitutional."

Senior journalist and former chief editor of the banned Tempo magazine Goenawan Mohamad, who chairs the presidium, said the committee, with its eye on next year's general election, aims to make "corrections" to the way the polls have been held in the past.

"With all due respect to the efforts made since 1971 in improving the election mechanism, we have to admit that there are shortcomings that need correcting," Goenawan said.

"Improving the mechanism must involve the people's participation because it is the people's voice that counts in elections. Their participation is also a concrete form of political education," according to the statement signed by Goenawan and Secretary General Mulyana Kusumah.

The long awaited announcement was made at the Cafe Venezia before approximately 200 people, from various organizations and professions, including human rights activists, legal aid workers, politicians, journalists and students.

Goenawan heads an 11-person presidium of mostly activists from various non-governmental organizations.

The committee draws its strength from the presence of more than 40 senior statesmen, lawyers, intellectuals and activists on its board of advisors.

The advisors include Adnan Buyung Nasution, Soekardjo Adidjojo, Amartiwi Saleh, Nurcholish Madjid, S.K. Trimurti, Arbi Sanit, Arief Budiman, Ali Sadikin, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Permadi Satrio Wiwoho, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, Zoemrotin K. Soesilo and Muchtar Pakpahan. And the list is growing, the committee said.

"The establishment of the committee reflects our desire to voluntarily contribute to the processes of democracy, and support the call for an honest and fair election through a direct and secret ballot," the statement read.

Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung last week said the plan to establish an election monitoring committee outside the official election framework is "unconstitutional". At the time he did not spell out what moves the military would take if the activists went ahead with the plan.

The idea for an independent election committee originated with the United Development Party which said that cheating in previous elections had gone unpunished.

The initiative has since been taken up by private organizations, and several have been set up in various cities. The committee under Goenawan is by far the most credible in terms of the personnel involved.

Goenawan said the committee will recruit and train volunteers to help in monitoring the elections, write up reports for the public, organize discussions and research work, and conduct polls. The KIPP secretariat also welcomes reports from members of the public who are aware of election malpractice.

The committee is prepared to work with other, similar, committees that have been established in cities such as Banda Aceh, Lampung, Yogyakarta, Bali, Bandung, Manado, Surakarta, Jakarta and Ujungpandang.

Goenawan said the committee does not have any permanent source of income to finance its activities. "For the time being, we are funding our activities through personal contributions."

Nurcholish Madjid, a respected Moslem intellectual who is on the board of advisors, said the committee is not obliged to have government approval. "This is an independent body," he said.

The committee should be seen as part of the current move towards a civil society, in which people participate in the decision-making processes and have the right to fair treatment by the state apparatus, he said. (imn)