Howard hails Indonesia's democratic, peaceful polls

Howard hails Indonesia's democratic, peaceful polls

JAKARTA (JP): Australian Prime Minister John Howard hailed
Indonesia's eighth general election, calling the June 7 polls a
democratic and peaceful event.

"The remarkably peaceful election is proof of Indonesia's
commitment to democracy," Howard told Antara in Canberra Tuesday.

President B.J. Habibie has taken a risk for the sake of a fair
and smooth election, he said, adding that the leader is an
important figure in paving the way for the democratic election.

He said the success of the election has made Australians happy
as Australia will soon have a democratic neighboring country.

While noting that Australia will continue to strengthen its
cooperation with the elected government, Howard said that a fair
and smooth poll was very significant to the establishment of
peace in the region.

"We will continue to make Indonesia our main priority and to
support its political and economic reforms," Howard said.

Australia extended A$15 million for the Indonesian election
through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and sent 25
observers.

In Jakarta, President B.J. Habibie said he had to calm his
eldest son Ilham who expressed concern about the political future
of his father after seeing the updated election results.

Preliminary results have placed Golkar Party lagging behind
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and
the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Habibie told visiting Konrad Adenauer Stiftung media project
director Thomas Bernd Stehling how he had persuaded his son to go
to bed and rest on Monday evening, telling him to wait for the
final result of the ballot.

"He advised his son to sleep well and that nothing was wrong,
and that is (the risk of) politics," Antara general manager Parni
Hadi said after accompanying Habibie during the meeting with
Stehling at Merdeka Palace.

Parni quoted Habibie as telling his guest that only about 1
percent of the total ballots had been counted, in which the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) appeared
to be leading.

The President, who had logged into the counting process of the
General Elections Commission (KPU), predicted that no single
party would be able to win a single majority, Parni said.

"Whoever the winner is, it must be accepted as the result of
democracy," the senior journalist quoted Habibie as saying.

Golkar

In Yogyakarta, political lecturer Mochtar Mas'oed said tough
competition would only be between PDI Perjuangan and Golkar.
Consolidation among "proreform" political parties was needed to
ensure the continuing process of reform if Golkar wins the
election.

If results turn out otherwise, the military and the
bureaucracy, as pro-status quo forces, would have to accept the
political reality, he told The Jakarta Post.

"If Golkar wins the June 7 election, it would never be able to
establish a strong and legitimate government without
accommodating pressure for reforms," he said.

He said demands for a smooth legal prosecution for former
president Soeharto could be the reform parties' bargaining
position against Golkar if the latter wins the election.

"Reform forces should remind Golkar that the problem of former
president Soeharto is the biggest part of the country's problems.
So there must be a guarantee of serious prosecution for
Soeharto," he said.

Mochtar added if Golkar formed a coalition it would be best
done with the National Mandate Party (PAN). PAN has expressed
reluctance to form any coalition with Golkar.

"If we observe the closeness of sociological background of
party supporters, PAN will likely be the most possible party to
coalesce with Golkar," Mochtar said.

If PDI Perjuangan wins the election, Mochtar said, reform
parties should form a new pact to guarantee the military's
neutrality. Earlier pacts among parties have only focused
on vote-sharing. PDI Perjuangan, Mochtar said, must convince the
bureaucracy that its election victory would not mean the disposal
of government employees.

"That's one of the reasons why civil servants' support for
Golkar is still strong," he said.

In a bid to eliminate strong offense from modern Muslim
groups, Mochtar suggested that PDI Perjuangan leader Megawati
Soekarnoputri should strive to avoid intervention from internal
party elements which are less sensitive to religious perspectives
in politics. The Indonesian Council of Ulema urged Muslims
against choosing a party with many non-Muslim legislative
candidates such as within PDI Perjuangan.

In response to possibilities of data manipulation with the
slow tally, Alexander Irwan of the Indonesian People Network of
Election Observers (Jampi) which is also tabulating votes, said
such observations would only be possible after complete results
were obtained.

Indonesian observer Jeffrey A. Winters raised concerns of the
slow tally, saying during the Philippine elections where
geographical conditions were similar to the Indonesian
archipelago, results were obtained in less than 24 hours.

Alexander agreed that transmission of poll results could be
made faster. "However, it's not always true that the better
telecommunication system in Java cities would provide faster
transmission than in cities outside Java with a less
sophisticated system," he said, adding that data from outside
Java would be received faster due to fewer voters.

Alexander said the General Elections Commission (KPU) should
explain whether tabulated poll results were based on raw data
from polling places, or from recapitulated data by regency
election committees. (prb/44/swa/imn/rms)