'NGOs needed for poll watch'

'NGOs needed for poll watch'

JAKARTA (JP): The government should invite foreign non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as representatives of
neighboring countries to observe the May 29 general election, two
political analysts said yesterday.

Muladi, a law professor at the Semarang-based Diponegoro
University, and political writer Alexander Irwan said separately
the government could show the world how democratic the elections
were by inviting representatives of foreign countries and
independent foreign observers.

The government announced last week it would only let
representatives appointed by overseas governments observe the
election.

Soetoyo N.K., the director general of sociopolitical affairs
at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said other foreign observers
would be treated as "common tourists whom the government would
not serve".

The ruling Golkar, the United Development Party and the
Democratic Indonesian Party will contest 425 seats of the 500-
seat House of Representatives at the election. The remaining 75
seats are held by members of the Armed Forces, whose members do
not vote.

Muladi said foreign observers would encourage contestants to
be more careful which would reduce cheating.

But Muladi, a member of the National Commission on Human
Rights, agreed with the government's comment that foreign
observers should not make judgments according to their national
prejudices.

Irwan said that, even if foreign NGOs were invited, they would
be of little use unless the government gave them freedom to
observe the elections.

He said that, if foreign NGOs were given an opportunity to
observe the elections, they should work together with local
counterparts such as the unrecognized Independent Elections
Monitoring Committee.

"Observers cannot judge by observing only 10 to 20 polling
booths and then conclude whether the election is democratic, can
they?" Irwan said.

In their book Pemilu: Pelanggaran Asas Luber (Elections:
Violations of Direct, General, Free and Confidential Principles)
(1995), Alexander Irwan and Edriana cited at least 1,019 cases of
violations of direct, general, free and confidential election
principles in the 1992 general election.

Violations were mostly committed by bureaucrats, Golkar
members and security officers who had access to all election
stages, including ballot counting.

Soetoyo said the government would not let foreigner observers
move freely because their points of observation would be decided
in light of available government facilities. The government would
not be able to facilitate foreign observers at all 300,000
polling booths.

Political analyst Rasdi Eko Siswoyo said the government should
not invite foreign observers at all.

"It only creates the impression that we have had problems in
past elections if we need them (foreign observers) here to
observe us," he told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Rasdi, the rector of Semarang Teachers Training Institute,
said Indonesia's general elections had been good quality and
without disturbance.

"The people have already recognized that elections here are
good. Their participation rates have been as high as 90 percent,"
he said.

He said, if foreign observers were invited, the government
would need to restrict their meddling.

"We have different political standards to foreigners, so they
would have to pass their judgments in accordance with our
standards," he said. (aan/har)

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