Ineptitude or apathy?

With polling day for the June 7 general election less than two months away, every visible sign in many areas of the country seems to indicate that neither the public nor polling officials are ready for the big event. The registration of voters was supposed to have begun on Monday, however, registrars in many areas said Thursday, the fourth day of the official registration period, they would not be ready to start work until next week.

In many areas, registration officials had to turn back would- be voters because they had not received registration forms from Jakarta. In other areas, everything was said to be ready except for the stamps to put the official seal on the papers. Registration committees had not even been formed in some areas. And a poll conducted by Kompas daily showed that as many as 44 percent of people polled were not aware that, to be listed as voters, they had to go to predetermined points to register themselves, believing they could wait for officials to come to them.

In view of this apparent unpreparedness of polling officials across the country, one may be inclined to doubt that the elections can be held on schedule -- and thus blame the polling officials for any delay that could jeopardize the nation's reform drive. To be fair to the poll organizers, however, one must recognize the immensity of the problems they are confronted with.

Not since 1955 has Indonesia had any experience holding truly fair and democratic elections. Add to this the multidimensional crisis the nation is currently facing and the crippled democratic infrastructure left by the New Order regime, and one can appreciate the near impossibility of organizing a fair general election in the few months since the poll was mandated by the People's Consultative Assembly in November.

Nevertheless, a fair and transparent general election is the only hope Indonesia has to pull itself out of its present political and economic predicament. This is the only way to establish a credible government that is truly representative of the people's aspirations. For this reason it is in the interest of all Indonesians to do everything in their power to make sure the polls are held as scheduled and with as few foul-ups as possible.

Amid this apparent lethargy, an encouraging signal has come from Jakarta. After the initial confusion of the first couple of days, people have appeared in the thousands at registration points throughout the city, where registrars appeared to be ready to cope with the growing voter enthusiasm. If Jakarta can be regarded as a gauge for the nation's general political mood, it seems likely the low turnout in many parts of the country in the last few days should be blamed not so much on voter apathy as on unpreparedness on the part of the organizers.

If this is true -- and there is no apparent reason to believe otherwise -- it is the responsibility of all concerned to waste no time ensuring that every Indonesian is informed of the proper procedures to become eligible to vote. This is a task that must be undertaken not only by polling officials, but also by all political party leaders and activists. At stake is the peace and progress of the nation.

Too much time has been wasted already on problems not immediately related to the elections. Too much energy has been wasted on squabbling and bickering among parties. The time has come for us to make every effort in our power to encourage democracy to work. There is not much time left.