KPU postpones ballot count

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)