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)