Millions flock to polling stations from Irian to Sumatra

Millions flock to polling stations from Irian to Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): The Dani tribesmen of Irian Jaya's Baliem valley
voted yesterday with millions of fellow Indonesians thanks to
traditional ceremonies, good food and smoke signals that guided
them to polling stations.

At 7:00 a.m. the Dani -- wearing animal skin headbands with
long bird feathers, yalimo shell necklaces, layers of pork fat
and other ceremonial attire -- began filling into polling
stations around the town of Wamena, Jayawijaya.

Outside Wamena, thick smoke rose from stone fireplaces on
which they cooked traditional cassava and pork meals. The smoke
was a signal for Dani villagers to gather for an important event.

The election proceeded without incident in most parts of the
country, although scrutineers from all parties were not on hand
at many ballot stations.

During election campaigns, Irian tribespeople made news when
many of them appeared with their penis sheaths (koteka) painted
yellow, the color of Golkar.

Voting went smoothly in Manado, North Sulawesi, even though
only the dominant Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) fielded scrutineers, Antara reported.

PDI scrutineers were absent at most polling stations in
Yogyakarta. A PDI member said that most PDI scrutineers had been
threatened by party rivals who were loyal to the ousted PDI
leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

PDI scrutinizers were also absent in Samarinda, East
Kalimantan, and in Kendari, Central Sulawesi. Only Golkar
scrutineers were present at most polling stations in Bandar
Lampung, Lampung.

In Serang, West Java, Governor H.R. Nuriana said that all
rumors of polling stations being burned down had proved untrue.

There had been rumors since Wednesday night of people
vandalizing or torching polling stations in Serdang regency,
which was hit by riots last week during campaigning.

The staff at Serang city hall were ordered to change into
plain clothes before they went to polling stations for fear of
violence. Civil servants are obliged to vote Golkar.

In Surabaya, streets were deserted and business was quiet as
dozens of soldiers maintained pickets across the city because of
rumored riots.

Brawijaya Military Commander Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo said
Wednesday that rioters trying to disrupt the election would be
shot on the spot.

In Pasuruan, East Java, hundreds of ballot papers on which
Golkar symbols had already been pricked were discovered before
voting yesterday. Fifty of the spoiled ballot papers were found
in a polling station in Kraton district. These were destroyed
immediately.

In Pamekasan, Madura, about 1,000 people only received their
voting notifications yesterday morning.

Sources said that about 15 percent of the town's eligible
voters, most of them United Development Party (PPP) supporters,
had not received their forms until after voting had ended. They
were told the local electoral committee had run out of forms.

In Ambon, the capital of Maluku, leaflets were distributed
throughout the town telling people not to vote for one of the
parties. The pamphlets were printed by the Forum for State and
Country Awareness.

In Bogor, West Java, anonymous leaflets were distributed
telling people not to vote. There were also rumors that ballot
boxes would be burnt because the election results had been
predetermined.

In Jakarta, students flocked to polling stations near their
schools. A student said a teacher had told her class Wednesday to
vote for "peace," otherwise they would not pass their exams. She
was apparently referring to Golkar, whose two-finger sign
resembles a peace sign.

The student said she did not vote. "That's because I don't
like to be forced. For my safety, it's better not to vote," she
said.

Nurmalita, a final-year student from another school, said she
had felt no intimidation. "I was not forced to vote for a certain
contestant, no one in my school intimidated me."

In Depok, West Java, polling stations outside the University
of Indonesia were guarded by two armored vehicles.

In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, streets and markets were
deserted and most shops did not open until 2:00 p.m. Many private
offices also closed to give staff a chance to vote near their
homes.

Stevedoring at the Makassar harbor stopped until midday
because workers voted near their homes.

Two polling stations were set up at Hasanuddin airport so
2,000 airport staff and travelers with special forms could vote.

In Medan, North Sumatra, the streets were quiet and businesses
did not open until midday. Most factories at the Medan Industrial
Estate gave their workers the day off.

Polling stations were not the only places that accepted ballot
papers. Patients in hospitals cast ballots without getting out of
bed. In Semarang, 204 patients at Dr. Kariadi hospital voted in
bed as did 700 patients at Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital
and about 60 patients at St. Carolus hospital.

Central Java's Diponegoro military chief Maj. Gen. Subagyo HS
said in Surakarta the authorities foiled an attempt by about 200
people to vandalize a polling station in Pemalang, Antara
reported.

But in Dili, East Timor, no one from the local electoral
committee turned up at the city's general hospital until 10:00
a.m. local time, where 119 people had been waiting to vote.

Prison inmates in Bandar Lampung, Dili, Denpasar, Ambon and
Ujungpandang voted, Antara reported. But only those serving less
than five years were eligible to vote. (05/pwn/23/nur/38/24/21)