Numerous challenges facing election organizers in Poso

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi

The upcoming elections in Poso regency are facing various challenges, including the fact that several areas in the conflict zone are still off limits to people of different religions.

For example, Muslims do not dare enter the South Pamona area as it is a Christian stronghold, said the head of the Poso General Elections Commission (Poso KPU), Yasin Mangun.

"Despite the fact that the situation in Poso is returning to normal, Muslims would not go there for love nor money. The same applies in the opposite situation to Christians," he said.

Not only is the regency plagued by sectarian problems, but the Poso KPU also faces geographic obstacles. Some areas, for example, are still only accessible on horseback, with it taking at least two days to reach the more remote areas in some cases.

In Lore, for example, the only means of transportation is by horse, he said, thus making communications expensive. Money for transportation, however, is not provided by the central KPU.

According to Yasin, the lack of transportation funds has been a major obstacle for the Poso KPU, bearing in mind the hilly terrain and large geographic area of Poso regency. Maritime transportation is also expensive. The cost of the trip to Togean Island, for example, is prohibitive, and the journey takes a few days.

"This has caused us a lot of headaches and confusion," said Yasin, a former student activist from Tadulako University (Untad) in Palu.

There will be 886 polling stations serving 174,296 registered voters in the regency, according to Yasin, with a total of 3,544 ballot boxes being required.

He said that if there was a scarcity of ballot boxes, meaning that the number of boxes sent by the central KPU was less than the number required by the Poso KPU, the Poso KPU and the Poso regency administration would make up the difference.

"We could possibly use the ballot boxes from the last election, which are still in good condition," he explained.

Yasin said that to date voting simulations has only been conducted up to the district level, and had only been participated in by district and sub-district officials.

The Poso KPU had not involved the public at large in the simulations due to a lack of money.

The Poso KPU had also faced problems in registering legislative council candidates. In Poso, what was particularly confusing, he said, was the fact that many candidates claimed their school certificates had been lost or burned during the conflict.

"It's hard to prove whether they're telling the truth or not," he said. At least 30 candidates had claimed that their certificates had been burned.

Tadulako University's Peace and Conflict Management Research Center (P4K) in Palu held a general election information campaign in two areas last month -- Tentena, the capital of the Christian dominated North Pamona district, and the Muslim dominated Coastal Poso area.

Some 100 residents from each community were tested to see if they knew how to vote, but most of them made mistakes. The level of error was 65 percent on average. "They still made mistakes even though we briefed them before they cast their votes," said Tahmidi Lasahido, a staffer with the center.

Central Sulawesi governor Aminuddin Ponulele told The Jakarta Post that his administration had formed a combined team to tackle any problems that might arise during the upcoming general elections.

According to the governor, the principal duty of the team was to monitor the progress of the elections, including identifying any technical problems that might be encountered.

Yasin added that the various technical obstacles on the ground would have a significant impact in Poso. For example, the Poso KPU had to request assistance from the police and armed forces to escort ballot boxes to certain community strongholds.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha said the police had deployed around 5,000 personnel to ensure security during the general elections in the province. Two-thirds of the officers were stationed in Poso.

However, he said he was optimistic that the elections would proceed smoothly in the regency. He said that the people of Poso were now cooperating with the security forces as shown by the large numbers of firearms and bombs discovered thanks to information supplied by the public. Formerly, the police chief said, residents were reluctant to cooperate during weapons searches.

Political rallies would be allowed to be held in Poso as long as they followed the rules, he said.