Habibie expected to sign poll results

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie is expected to take decisive action on Tuesday following the General Elections Commission's (KPU) failure to endorse the elections results on Monday.

State Secretary/Minister of Justice Muladi said on Monday the President would take action following the commission's failure to meet its deadline for endorsing the results of the general election.

"The President is allowed to take action... if the KPU fails to endorse the poll results," Muladi said.

After meeting with the President at Merdeka Palace, Muladi said Habibie would consult with the KPU, the Elections Supervisory Committee and the National Elections Committee before making a decision.

"I still do not want to talk about (the plan), but in a state of emergency the President has to do something," Muladi said.

The minister refused to confirm or deny rumors that the President would issue a presidential decree validating the poll results.

"Just wait until tomorrow morning," he said.

Muladi also said Habibie would meet on Tuesday at the State Palace with leaders of political parties which won seats in the House of Representatives in the general election. He said the President would discuss preparations for the upcoming General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Muladi said Habibie would raise four important issues during the talks, including amending the 1945 Constitution and the President's accountability speech to the Assembly.

He said Habibie expected Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to attend, but added that her absence would not affect the meeting.

The KPU in its plenary session here on Monday, again failed to endorse the poll results. KPU representatives of 25 of the 27 smaller political parties which earlier refused to accept the poll results, were not swayed by the results of the Election Supervisory Committee's investigation into allegations of elections fraud.

The meeting turned chaotic and was adjourned following a heated debate between KPU government representatives and party representatives over the results of the supervisory committee's investigation.

Government representatives endorsed the investigation results and pressed the representatives of the 27 dissenting parties to sign the poll results. However, the party representatives were not moved, citing the large number of violations before and during the elections.

The supervisory committee said on Monday the decision by the 27 party representatives not to endorse the poll results was incorrect because their objections were not based on fact.

The Indonesian National Party led by Supeni and the New Indonesia Party signed the poll results on Monday.

Following the debate, the KPU representatives of 46 political parties met at Hotel Indonesia to discuss the numerous problems the elections commission faced.

The party representatives agreed to forge ahead with KPU's agenda, including allocating seats in the next House and provincial and regency legislatures.

"Despite the parties' objections, the elections commission will continue with its agenda and process the poll results. We will do it for the sake of the nation," KPU chairman Rudini said.

The party representatives also agreed to demand the government expel its representatives Andi Mallarangeng and Adnan Buyung Nasution from the commission.

"We will no longer be able to work with the two," Agus Miftah, the Indonesian People's Economic Party's representative, said.

Rudini said he was disappointed by the government representatives' performance on the elections commission.

"They failed to play a role as a bridge between the government and political parties on the elections commission," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said the decision by the 25 parties not to endorse the elections results would not affect the poll results.

"Despite the parties' ignorance of the Elections Supervisory Committee's decision, the poll results remain valid," he said in Mauk, Tangerang, West Java, on Monday.

Separately, the Elections Supervisory Committee's decision to overrule the parties' objections was supported by poll watchdog the Rectors Forum, and Rubiyanto Misman and Noer Iskandar al- Barsany, two political observers from General Soedirman University in Purwokerto, Central Java.

The director of the Rectors Forum, Sudjana Sapi'ie, said in Bandung, West Java, on Monday the final elections results were not very different from the votes counted by both local and foreign observers. (prb/rms/43/45)