KPU postpones ballot count
JAKARTA (JP): Only seven of the 27 provincial elections committees completed their official ballot count by Monday's deadline, leading the National Elections Committee to delay the national vote count.
Political party leaders who had gathered to hear the results of the national vote count expressed disappointment when they were told the General Elections Commission (KPU) had delayed the tallying.
Commission chairman Rudini said the KPU would hold a plenary meeting on Tuesday to decide on a new date for the start of the national ballot counting.
Committee deputy Hasbalah M. Saad said on Saturday that the official schedule for the vote count would likely not be met because of slow counting at the provincial and regional levels. Even in the capital, the ballot recount has not been completed.
The provinces which completed their vote counts by Monday were Lampung, Bali, Yogyakarta, East Timor, Jambi, West Java and Irian Jaya.
"The ballot counting at the national level was postponed because we are still hearing reports of electoral law violations in several provinces. These reports need to be settled first," KPU chairman Rudini said, quoting article 62 of the 1999 law on elections.
He denied June 21 was the official deadline for the announcement of final elections results and said Monday was only supposed to be the first day of the national vote count.
Present on Monday to hear the national elections results were Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung, Indonesian National Party led by Supeni (PNI-Supeni) chairwoman Supeni, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) deputy chairman Dimyati Hartono and the secretary-general of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), Hayono Isman.
Under the vote counting system, results from the polling stations are first tabulated and validated at the subdistrict level, then at the regency and provincial levels before they are recounted and verified at the national level.
However, several provincial elections committees have called for new polls or a recount of the ballots amid reports of alleged errors and fraud.
Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung left the auditorium of the KPU secretariat when he learned of the delay. He expressed regret at the slow vote count, particularly because Golkar's internal counting had tallied some 90 percent of the ballots.
KIPP
A former minister and the secretary-general of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), Hayono Isman, said that while the delay was not extraordinary, there was a matter of ethics because respected guests had been invited to the start of the national tally.
Chairman of the official Elections Supervisory Committee Soedarko said he would respect whatever decision was made by the General Elections Commission and the National Elections Committee, including delaying the start of the national vote count.
"We've been invited... but we have to respect the fact that KPU has problems starting the ballot counting on schedule," he said.
The Independent Elections Monitoring Committee (KIPP) issued a statement on Monday criticizing the delay.
"Article 62 of the 1999 law on elections does not specifically stipulate that national ballot counting must be done in a one-day period. Therefore, it can be held gradually without waiting for complete official reports from the 27 provinces," the statement, signed by KIPP secretary-general Mulyana W. Kusumah, said.
"The delay will only add new problems to the ballot counting process," Mulyana said.
He said the KPU and the National Elections Committee should only respond to complaints filed within a two-week period after the June 7 general election.
"We call on all interested parties to make immediate, honest and objective decisions about the poll results and to prevent any possible fraud in the extension of the tallying period," he said.
Meanwhile, the deputy chairman of the official Elections Supervisory Committee, Todung Mulya Lubis, said he was sure the July 8 deadline for completing the final tallies for the House of Representatives and lower legislative bodies could be met.
The supervisory committee is still checking into reports of elections violations. It has been criticized for being slow in investigating reports of violations, but a committee member attributed its perceived lack of speed to the fact that the committee was only established in March.
As of 10:30 p.m. official results from the General Elections Commission showed that for the House of Representatives, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) was leading with 21.4 million votes, followed by the National Awakening Party (PKB) with 10.68 million votes. Edging close in third place was Golkar with 10.66 million votes.(imn/rms)