KPU to control pollsters' activities ahead of election
KPU to control pollsters' activities ahead of election
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta
In a move that could further restrict freedom of expression, the
General Elections Commission (KPU) applied on Tuesday a variety
of conditions for independent pollsters to meet prior to
conducting any research.
KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said the decision was part
of the commission's efforts to avoid opinion polls being used by
presidential candidates to promote themselves.
The KPU decision came one day after the Megawati
Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi camp called on the commission to
closely monitor the activities of the Washington-based
International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and other
independent pollsters.
"Opinion polls on presidential candidates cannot be banned by
the commission in the runoff as it concerns freedom of speech and
freedom of expression, but at least we can regulate the polling
to ward off unwanted consequences," Ramlan told a news briefing
here on Tuesday.
Ramlan said that prior to sending their survey staff into the
field, pollsters must report their funding sources to the
commission -- to determine whether it is related to presidential
tickets -- explain their data collecting methods and magnitude of
sampling within the population, when polling will be conducted
and the margin of error.
The same conditions apply to media that publish the opinion
polls.
The commission also suggested that independent pollsters do
not publish their survey results during the one-day cooling-off
period after the Sept. 17 to Sept. 19 campaigning period.
However, the commission will not take legal action against
unruly pollsters and would let the public judge whether or not
the pollsters were neutral in their released findings.
"We will only give a written and public reprimand, so that
members of the public can decide for themselves," Ramlan said.
The commission will also set up a monitoring team to closely
watch the independent pollsters' activities. Ramlan declined to
disclose details of the plan.
The Megawati-Hasyim campaign team made the demand after scores
of independent pollsters published surveys predicting that Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono and running mate Jusuf Kalla would win the
Sept. 20 runoff.
Heri Akhmadi of the Megawati-Hasyim team said that the
pollsters favored the Susilo-Kalla pair and always underestimated
others.
Contacted separately, Yanti B. Sugarda, managing director of
IFES' local partner the Polling Center said that she was ready to
disclose any information related to her opinion polls any time.
"We use a scientific method in our survey, why must we be
afraid of disclosing it, it is part of our accountability to the
public, of which the KPU is a part," she told The Jakarta Post.
She also said that the KPU move was not in response to the
Megawati-Hasyim camp's demands.
The program manager of the Institute of Economic and Social
Studies and Development (LP3ES) and the National Democratic
Institute (NDI)-sponsored Quick Count, Muhammad Husain, said that
if the conditions had to be fulfilled by pollsters it would
curtail their freedom.