'Negative campaigning' prominent, says UNFREL

'Negative campaigning' prominent, says UNFREL

JAKARTA (JP): Observers believe the reform movement which
forced Soeharto to step down last year has yet to change people's
political behavior for the better, with many still engaged in
"negative campaigning" for the June 7 general election.

Todung Mulya Lubis of the University Network for Free and Fair
Elections (Unfrel) and officials of the Independent Elections
Monitoring Committee (KIPP) evaluated the first round of this
year's campaign, which ended Monday, by noting that many of the
48 parties contesting the polls still campaigned in ways which
smacked of practices under Soeharto's New Order administration.

"Unfrel notes that supporters of several political parties
still disparage other parties or condemn leaders of other
parties," Lubis told The Jakarta Post.

"We also notice that campaign participants held street
rallies, which violated not only the electoral law but also
traffic regulations."

KIPP said in a written statement that the reform spirit has
failed to change the behavior of campaign participants.

"The content of the campaigning mimics those held by those
contesting elections during the New Order administration," said
the statement, cosigned by KIPP Presidium chairman Yoppie Renyaan
and Monitoring Division chief Junaidi.

The independent committee concluded that most of the campaign
participants failed to make optimal use of the first-phase of the
campaign period.

"Election participants have no clear guidance for the content
of their campaigns," it said. "Most of them chose cases of
corruption, collusion and nepotistic practices by former
president Soeharto as topics of their election campaigning."

The law on elections bans parties from disparaging other
parties and the General Elections Commission's decree prohibits
street rallies.

KIPP noted 142 cases of political parties organizing
campaigning at places other than designated areas, 169 cases of
street rallies and 18 cases of parties contesting the polls
condemning or disparaging other parties or party leaders.

The independent committee also noted three cases of the
destruction of party facilities, four cases of parties using
facilities of houses of worships and six cases of parties using
state facilities.

Meanwhile, Fajrul Falaakh, an advisor to the United Nations
Development Program, said there should be no problem with street
rallies as long as campaign participants could maintain order and
security.

Fajrul believed only Golkar benefited from the current
campaigning because of its years of experience since it was
established by Soeharto.

Other parties were at a disadvantage because they were newer
and had a shorter time to disseminate their programs to the
community.

Lubis, the KIPP officials and Fajrul, however, agreed the
first round of the election campaigning proceeded in a more
orderly manner, with minimal cases of security disturbances and
disorderly conduct.

"Despite clashes among supporters of different parties and
cases of violation of the electoral law and the commission's
regulations, the first round of the election campaigning was
successful," Lubis said.

"The first round of the campaigning was relatively safe,"
Fajrul said.

In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, the local office of the KIPP
noted that several election participants violated the electoral
law during the first round of campaigning.

It cited several supporters of the National Awakening Party
(PKB) who carried badik (small daggers) in a rally last Sunday,
while supporters of the Golkar Party were caught tearing down a
banner belonging to the United Development Party (PPP) on the
same day.

The independent committee also found the Indonesian Democratic
Union Party (PUDI) violated the electoral law when it organized
an election campaigning speech in the park of the 45 Grand Mosque
about Monday, while about 100 supporters of the lesser known
National Labor Party (PBN) occupied the whole expanse of the
streets in a rally. (imn/30/edt)