Neiss praises RI election process

Neiss praises RI election process

WASHINGTON (JP): International Monetary Fund (IMF) Asia
Pacific director Hubert Neiss said Monday's elections in
Indonesia proceeded smoother than many people had predicted.

"Everybody predicted violence because they said even under
Soeharto there was violence," Neiss told The Jakarta Post
correspondent Yenni Djahidin on Wednesday.

"There is no single report of a serious violation of the
election process. So, I think it's very great. It's much more
important than the results. These are elections, by and large,
that have worked as they were intended to work," he said.

Neiss has traveled to Jakarta frequently to assess Indonesia's
financial needs and to oversee the implementation of the IMF-
prescribed economic reform programs by the government of
President B.J. Habibie.

On Monday, just as Indonesia held the first democratic ballot
in over four decades, the IMF announced that it approved a US$450
million loan for Indonesia, part of an IMF-led $43 billion rescue
package for the country.

Neiss dismissed concerns that the slow ballot-counting process
could be manipulated by certain political parties.

"There are always technical problems. Indonesia is a big
country, many provinces, many islands, and then I'm sure things
will not be perfect ... What's important is that there is no
major mistake. And that people, by and large, will think this is
acceptable," he said.

On allegations that some of the IMF's money could have been
used by the government to buy votes, Neiss said:

"It's nonsense. If they (the Indonesian government) want to
buy votes, they don't need international money because they buy
votes with their own rupiah," he said, adding that the IMF money
has been used to prop up Bank Indonesia's foreign exchange
reserves and to finance international trade.

Historic step

In London, British Minister of State Geoffrey Hoon welcomed
Indonesia's first democratic general election since 1955, saying
it was a historic step, taking the country into the next
millennium as the world's third-largest democracy.

"Our hope is that the momentum of political and economic
reforms started by President Habibie will be maintained," he
said.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, international poll watchers continued
applauding the general election, which proceeded without
significant hurdles.

The Philippine National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections
(Namfrel) chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. reported that the
elections are "generally free and fair" with no untoward
incidents and signs of intimidation.

But Namfrel noted that it was vital that political parties and
poll watchdogs paid attention to the consolidation of votes at
the village and subdistrict levels to safeguard the integrity of
the ballot.

In a dialog sponsored by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents
Association, Concepcion said the elected People's Consultative
Assembly must not fail the people in bringing about a meaningful
change in governance as it organizes a coalition government.

The Australian Observation Mission, which dispatched its teams
to Nusa Tenggara, East Kalimantan and East Java, also praised the
balloting proceedings.

It observed few irregularities that would have had a
significant impact on the overall result, although it did find
problems.

"There were, for example, instances of insufficient ballot
papers, a lack of safety holograms and a shortage of indelible
ink in some locations," the organization said in a statement.

Also in Jakarta, the coordinator of poll observers under the
European Union, John Gwyn Morgan, said the team would remain in
the country until August. (pan/anr)