Hi-tech ballot counting to be introduced

Hi-tech ballot counting to be introduced

JAKARTA (JP): The University of Indonesia will exhibit on
Monday afternoon a computerized ballot counting system designed
to prevent cheating in the upcoming general election.

A Sunday press release from the university stated the system
-- called SI CACAH, an Indonesian acronym for "simple,
informative, credible, safe, speedy, accurate and economical" --
would speed up the bureaucratic process. The principle by which
the system works is called SOS, or "speed, zero defect and safe".

Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid, chairman of the
General Elections Commission (KPU) Rudini and activists from poll
committees and poll watch organizations are scheduled to attend
the demonstration in the hall of the Medical School at the
University of Indonesia, Central Jakarta, at noon.

Past elections under the New Order regime also used
computerized ballot counting, but cheating and rigging were
rampant.

Meanwhile, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, a British
organization that draws on the skills and experience of the
British Houses of Parliament in Westminster, will run a series of
workshops in cooperation with the KPU over the next two weeks in
support of the June 7 general election.

Workshops will take place in Jakarta (April 20 to April 21),
Medan (April 23 to April 24), Surabaya (April 26 to April 27) and
Ujungpandang (April 29 to April 30).

Participants will include representatives of the 48 political
parties registered to contest the poll, government
representatives, independent election monitoring groups, election
administrators, the media and university representatives.

Issues to be covered will include election law and procedure,
election campaigning, constructive opposition, policy development
and the relationship between political parties, the media and
other organizations.

Titled Toward a Code of Conduct for Political Parties in the
Elections, the workshop will feature Rudini and Afan Gaffar of
KPU and British MP Mark Fisher.

Further information can be obtained from the Press and Public
Affairs Officer Ivy Nasution, at the British Embassy on (21)
3144229 extension 4248.

The British government has committed US$3 million to support
the election process in Indonesia. The aid will be channeled
through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UNDP-
coordinated projects in support of election monitoring groups,
local radio and for establishing the code of conduct.

ABRI

High-ranking military officials reiterated during the weekend
the Armed Force's (ABRI) neutrality in the elections, citing the
approach as the best option to respond to various political
problems.

Territorial chief Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
identified three reasons why elections were the best option for
the country, the first of which was the recent dramatic political
upheavals.

"Usually, in countries which experience such a situation, a
process is launched to learn what people really think. It's
usually in the form of a general election that will establish a
more legitimate administration," Susilo said during a break in a
seminar on the new role of the police and the military in
Bandung, West Java.

The second reason was the current "political euphoria" felt by
people because their sovereignty was being restored. The most
democratic option for such a community was elections, he said.

The last reason was wide-spread condemnation of the current
administration.

"If this is what people think, then we should hold honest,
fair, direct and free elections so a legitimate administration
can be built," he said.

In Medan, North Sumatra, chief of the Bukit Barisan Military
Command overseeing Sumatra, Maj. Gen. Rachman Gaffar, again
pledged ABRI impartiality toward all political parties.

ABRI officers would no longer call, suggest or persuade any
members of the community vote for specified parties.

In a written address to a meeting of the Indonesian Christian
Students Movement, Gaffar said members of the ABRI Big Family
"could choose any parties they want".

In Jakarta, former vice president Try Sutrisno, who is
chairman of the Association of Retired Servicemen (Pepabri), said
on Friday that elections was the gate through which the nation
can enter true democracy and to establish a democratic
government.

During former president Soeharto's New Order regime, the
military, along with the bureaucracy, was part of an immense
political machine that kept Golkar in victory and perpetuated the
regime.

Also in Medan, three students continued on Sunday a hunger
strike they began last Thursday to boycott the general election.

Mus Muliadi and T. Yans Fauzie from Muhammadiyah Sumatra Utara
University and Oslan Purba from Sumatra Utara University began
their strike at the traffic roundabout on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

"We will continue the strike until elections on June 7," one
of the students said.

The students are also protesting the slow ongoing corruption
investigation into Soeharto and his associates. (swe/43/21)