Journalists set up election watchdog

Journalists set up election watchdog

PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: The Indonesian Journalists
Association (PWI) has set up an election watchdog involving
journalists and the public to monitor the 2004 elections.

PWI chairman Tarman Azzam said the watchdog was named People
and the Indonesian Journalists Association for Free and Fair
Elections (Pijafrel).

He said the election watchdog would be independent and would
have 31 chapters across the country.

In the New Order government, PWI was an instrument of Golkar
to communicate its ideas to the people.

The new institution will monitor elections, including the
first direct presidential election that Indonesia will have.

Tarman called on the public to jointly monitor the elections
so that they produce clean governance. -- Antara