Golkar wins big, PDI decimated

From: The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Golkar made a sweeping victory in Thursday's general election which saw the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) almost decimated and the United Development Party (PPP) gaining ground, according to the latest tally of votes.

By 9 o'clock last night, with more than 106 million of valid votes counted by the National Election Committee, Golkar won 74 percent, the United Development Party (PPP) 23 percent and PDI 3 percent.

The authorities have not announced the turnout rate or the spoilt ballots -- both usually used as a rough measures of people's discontent at the system. More than 124.7 million Indonesians were registered as voters.

Golkar's total tally is within its target of 70.02 percent and exceeds the 68.11 percent it achieved five years ago. When all the votes have been counted, Golkar, under chairman Harmoko, could surpass its best election feat in 1987 when it polled 73.17 percent.

PPP, a coalition of Moslem parties which had campaigned on a platform for political reforms, made a significant improvement on the 17 percent it polled in 1992, but failed to beat its best showing of 27.78 percent in the 1977 election.

PDI, beset by divided leadership, made a dismal, but not totally unexpected, showing. Historically a coalition of nationalist and Christian forces, the party has always played as the smallest of the minority parties in the six elections held under President Soeharto, but never this small.

The results showed that many of the discontented PDI supporters switched allegiances, and voted for PPP.

The party was divided into those supporting chairman Soerjadi, who is backed by the government, and loyalists of Megawati Soekarnoputri, whom Soerjadi ousted in an officially-sanctioned congress in June last year.

The government does not recognize Megawati's leadership and barred her from taking part in the election as leader of the party. She announced last week that she was boycotting the election.

The results of the election will determine the composition of the House of Representatives. There were 425 seats up for grab under the proportional representation system. Voters also cast ballots for their local legislative councils.

The election committee had not yet announced the distribution of seats for the House, but on the basis of the percentages of counted votes, Golkar won 324 seats, PPP 87 and PDI 14 seats. Currently, Golkar holds 282 seats, PPP 62 and PDI 56.

The Armed Forces, whose members did not vote, automatically receives 75 House seats. In 1992, it was allocated 100 seats.

The results, even though provisional, left no doubt that Golkar has a firm grip over the nation. In some provinces, its victory was complete if not overwhelming that it is expected to grab all the House seats allotted for these regions.

Golkar took more than 97 percent of the total votes counted in Southeast Sulawesi and won by more than 90 percent in West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, Lampung, Bali, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara.

In Jakarta, Golkar faced the stiffest challenge from PPP. Its tally of votes rose only marginally to 57 percent, but PPP's jumped from 24 percent to 41 percent.

In Central Java, the strong Golkar campaign, which at times seemed overzealous to its opponents, paid off. Golkar's tally of votes jumped from 55 percent in 1992 to 68 percent.

Besides Jakarta, PPP is also strong in East Java -- where it has enjoyed a strong support from rural Moslems -- Yogyakarta, and in South Kalimantan, the scene of a fatal riot triggered by clashes between its supporters and Golkar's last week.

The election committee continued to update the results every two hours yesterday, but with more than 106 million votes already counted by the afternoon, the new results changed the composition of the votes only marginally.

Concern

Soerjadi, clearly dejected, was circumspect in his comment yesterday. "Assuming that there were no problems with the vote counting, then we're truly concerned at the drastic drop in PDI votes," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Golkar's top leaders, including Harmoko, were not available for comment on the landslide victory, but its chief campaign strategist Rully Chairul Azwar said the group was looking at between 17 to 20 additional seats in the House.

In spite of official appeals to the minority parties to accept the results, PPP yesterday demanded a recount in thousands of areas where the ballots were not counted in the presence of the public as required.

PPP Secretary General Tosari Wijaya listed polling stations in Sampang and Sumenep in East Java, and in Southeast Sulawesi, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, and Lampung where counting was dubious.

"This is a very serious violation," Tosari said in a media conference at PPP's headquarters. "These violations angered people, not the PPP's defeat," he said, referring to the outbreaks of violence in Sampang.

PPP deputy chairman Yusuf Syakir said the party was consulting lawyers from Indonesian Bar Association and Muhammadiyah Legal Aid Institute for possible court actions.

PPP has received reports alleging vote buying in government offices, intimidations, and that some people voted more than once.

"We heard reports that they were paid between Rp 60,000 and Rp 100,000 and a full-month salary, if they voted Golkar," he said.

Tosari also claimed that PPP's tally of votes in Jakarta should have been larger because its own data showed that the party polled at least the same number of votes as Golkar. (06/05/11/amd/01/emb)

JP/Golkar wins big, PDI decimated