Golkar wins in Sampang revote

Golkar wins in Sampang revote

By Ainur R. Sophiaan

SAMPANG, East Java (JP): Thousands of United Development Party
(PPP) supporters in Madura carried out their threat to boycott an
election rerun here yesterday.

There was a poor turnout at most of the 65 polling stations
where the vote was repeated under the watchful eyes of security
forces led by East Java police chief Maj. Gen. Sumarsono.

In the absence of many PPP supporters, Golkar celebrated a
comfortable win with 245,061 votes or 60 percent of the valid
ballots. PPP, normally a regular winner on the predominantly
Moslem island, won 161,896 and the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) finished a distant third with 1,670.

Regent Fadlilah Budiono, who chairs the local election
committee, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the turnout
dropped sharply on Wednesday to 59 percent compared to more than
90 percent in last week's poll.

The result here will not change the distribution of seats in
the House of Representatives. At 19.00 West Indonesia Time, the
ruling Golkar had scooped 74.36 percent of the vote or 325 House
seats, PPP gained 22.58 percent or 90 seats and PDI 3.06 percent
or 10 seats. Election participation was 89.83 percent of the
124.7 million registered voters.

Business came to a halt in the town due to fears that there
would be more riots like the ones that disrupted the election
last Thursday.

Election committee officials had planned to hold an election
rerun at 86 polling booths. This was reduced to 65 after they
found copies of the results for 21 of the stations that had been
reported burned in last week's riots.

Budiono said PPP scrutineers were given copies of the results.
But the secretary of PPP's office here, Hasan Asy'ari, doubted
the validity of the copies.

East Java's governor, Basofi Soedirman, said the decision to
cancel the election rerun at 21 stations was taken shortly after
the results were found Tuesday night, but the public and party
scrutineers were only told minutes before the rerun began.

PPP local figures and religious leaders had demanded an
election rerun at 1,033 polling stations across the regency, but
the government agreed to a rerun at only 86.

Not a single one of the 513 registered voters in Rongtengah
village turned up, except seven election committee officials and
a Golkar witness. When it came to ballot counting, Golkar beat
lackluster PPP eight to nil.

Locals cheered and clapped during the counting.

Gunung Sekar village showed a more realistic result, with PPP
collecting 126 votes, Golkar 68 and the PDI one.

Meanwhile, police refused charismatic local ulema Alawy
Muhammad's demand for four PPP supporters to be released from
detention.

Alawy said that Ensiyanto, Abdul Latief, Habib Assegaf and
Chalid were being questioned at the prosecutor's office. The
detainees were among the 24 people arrested after the election
riot.

At least 11 people were injured, four of them seriously, in
the riot.

No more voting

In Jakarta, Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. ruled
out the possibility of more election reruns, saying there was no
good reason for a revote.

He said the election rerun was only warranted at the 86
polling stations in Sampang because the ballot boxes had been
burned during three days of unrest in Madura.

"Another election rerun would be just a waste of time," said
Yogie before a monthly cabinet meeting in Bina Graha.

Yogie chairs the General Elections Institute and the National
Elections Committee.

PPP demanded Monday a repeat of the election in several
regencies in East Java, West Sumatra, South Sulawesi and several
districts in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Singgih reiterated the
government's stance on election reruns, by saying the Sampang
revote was valid even though no PPP scrutineers were present.

Singgih, the Elections Supervision Committee head, received
PPP's allegations of vote-rigging during the election.

"Do not just blame the government for electoral violations. In
South Sulawesi we are still investigating the forgery of voting
notification forms by PPP officials," said Singgih before the
cabinet meeting.

"We will take tough measures against vote-rigging and
manipulation," said Singgih.