'Make sure everyone registers to vote'

'Make sure everyone registers to vote'

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday urged members of
election registration committees to make sure that all eligible
voters have their names enrolled.

"Don't let anyone be ignored or be registered twice," Soeharto
told the committee which visited to register him at his residence
on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta.

Soeharto was registered along with his youngest son Hutomo
Mandala Putra.

The 20-day registration drive began simultaneously throughout
the country.

Registration officers began knocking on doors registering all
Indonesians who are 17 or older, and teenagers who are already
married, as voters in the 1997 general election, scheduled for
May.

Under the Indonesian electoral system voters will choose their
representatives for their local and the national legislatures.

Soeharto and his son's names were officially recorded by
registration officer Zaenal Asyikin, who was accompanied by
neighborhood chief Mrs. Zoelmy Hayati Sri Tando and Gondangdia
district chief M. Sanusi.

Also present yesterday was Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S.M.
as head of the National Election Institute, Attorney General
Singgih who is head of the Election Supervision Committee,
Governor of Jakarta Surjadi Soedirdja and Central Jakarta Mayor
Abdul Kahfi.

After answering a set of basic questions required for the
procedure, Soeharto then asked them what he should do if he loses
his registration card.

"Well, we hope it won't get lost but if it does there's always
the data that we've collected," one of the committee members
replied.

Later on Zaenal Asyikin said the President called on them to
be diligent in their task. "If necessary, we have to visit a
house several times. That's what he told us," Zaenal said.

After registering the President, the committee proceeded to
Vice-President Try Sutrisno's residence on Jl. Diponegoro,
Central Jakarta. There, the Vice President, Mrs. Try Sutrisno and
their three children were registered.

House of Representatives speaker Wahono, after being
registered at his house yesterday, said there must be no
discrimination during the process.

"However, I'm sure that voter registration is being conducted
honestly," he said as quoted by Antara.

The question of unregistered eligible voters has in the past
been brought up by the two opposition parties, the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party.

PDI chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, in a statement
yesterday, urged anyone eligible, particularly first time voters,
to make sure they registered.

Meanwhile, the Tebet district chief, M. Syarif Hassan, said
yesterday the registration committee in his area would make sure
that those in hospitals and currently being detained by the
police are also registered.

Syarif also explained that eligible voters who have not
returned from the haj pilgrimage by the end of the registration
period can have their names added on to the additional voting
list.

He added that registration of homeless voters will be done on
July 13-14.

"The main point is that we try to include anyone who is
eligible," Syarif said. As reported by Antara up to 1,000
eligible voters were not registered in the Tebet district during
the last election in 1992.

In Surabaya, East Java Governor Basofi Sudirman was also
registered at his house yesterday. Antara reported that the
governor registered 24 people as voters in his household.

They were Basofi and his wife, his two sons, three aides, six
security personnel, eight servants and three chauffeurs. (mds)

Editorial -- Page 4