Minor electoral laws violation, say observers
JAKARTA (JP): Preliminary findings of poll observers on Monday revealed that despite minor violations of the electoral laws, the general election proceeded mostly peaceful.
Prominent international observers traveled around the five mayoralties of Jakarta.
Former United States president Jimmy Carter visited a number of polling places, including Rempoa in Ciputat, South Jakarta. Carter, who leads a 100-member delegation of international observers, closely observed the poll process, including the opening and the closing of the elections.
A leading figure of the European Union (EU) Election Observation Unit, John Gwyn Morgan, visited polling places in three mayoralties -- North, West and Central Jakarta. He also monitored the implementation of the electoral laws and procedures.
A tour of the city was also conducted by leaders of the Philippines' National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel).
Namfrel chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. led a delegation around the city to observe the election process in red-light districts, slum areas, downtown, a residential site dominated by Indonesian- Indians and business areas. He also observed voting at Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta and at a Menteng area, also in Central Jakarta, close to former president Soeharto's residence.
Concepcion told The Jakarta Post that he paid particular attention to the use of indelible ink. As a precaution against multiple voting, all voters were required to dip a finger in black, indelible ink. Preparations had been colored by reports of inferior ink being distributed to many areas across the country, including Jakarta.
Similarly, Anfrel chairman Gen. (ret) Sayud Kerdphol toured a number of the city's polling places.
Namfrel
Preliminary reports of Namfrel on Monday said that the opening hours of the elections were generally orderly and peaceful.
"Namfrel volunteers, who visited 341 polling places in 41 towns and cities in Java and Bali today, noted that the procedures for an orderly election as laid down by the General Elections Committee (KPU) were generally observed," said the report, copies of which were made available to the media.
The reports said officials of the polling places were seen to be serious about their job, while ballot boxes and the contents were properly secured on arrival at the polling places and opened in front of the officials, party witnesses and local and international observers.
Namfrel observers also noted that in general measures were taken to ensure the secrecy of the ballots and civilian security was adequate. "No episodes of intimidation were reported from the field," Namfrel noted.
However, a number of Namfrel observers found at some polling places in West Java that the supposedly indelible ink washed off, while in several polling places in Malang mayoralty, East Java, voters' fingers were not inspected for traces of indelible ink prior to voting. Also in Malang, there was a report of indelible ink arriving with the tally sheets, but not in the padlocked ballot box as required.
Meanwhile, in Semarang, Central Java, a volunteer reported a ballot box was missing in the opening hour, delaying voting. Also from Central Java, Namfrel volunteers found that some ballots had been tampered with as they had pre-punched holes.
Assembled information from East Jakarta, Central Java and Yogyakarta reported that campaign materials, such as posters, were found within 200 meters of polling places. KPU rulings regulate that polling places are supposed to be void of such materials. In Bandung, volunteers of the Rectors Forum were denied admittance into polling places.
In North Jakarta, Namfrel observers obtained reports of discrepancies between the number of registered voters and the ballots inside the ballot boxes in some polling places. (imn)