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