Observers cautious over election monitoring plan
JAKARTA (JP): Observers hailed Saturday the government's plan to invite foreigners to observe the May 29 polls, but said the move did not guarantee a fair general election.
Mohammad Budyatna, dean of the state-run University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, said Saturday the government should go further and let all three political groups control the flow of tallied ballots from the polling booths up to the national election committee.
"The transparency would help the government and the ruling party Golkar dispel any suspicion of cheating," Budyatna said.
The government-backed Golkar, seeking a sixth straight victory in May's election, will compete with the minority United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
Minister of Home Affairs and chairman of the General Election Institute Moch. Yogie S.M. said Friday a number of observers from neighboring and foreign countries would be invited to monitor the polls.
Many believed the decision was taken to appease the minority parties, who have repeatedly cried foul play in previous elections.
PPP deputy chairman Jusuf Syakir said that the absence of poll contestant representatives during ballot counting by election committees in government offices had encouraged cheating in the past.
Jusuf gave an example of how this could happen: "Nobody knows what's going on when subdistrict officials recheck the ballot boxes."
He welcomed the government's decision to invite foreigners, but asserted that no other bodies but the political groups themselves would be able to inspect the election process as effectively.
"Either foreign observers or independent bodies do not have enough human resources to monitor the polls," Jusuf, who has been named coordinating manager of the PPP's election campaign, said.
Jusuf complained that the government had never heeded PPP reports on irregularities during past elections, because the party had failed to provide "authentic evidence."
Rights
Asmara Nababan of the National Commission on Human Rights joined the clamor for a transparent general election, saying political groups should be involved in all stages of the election process, including ballot counting.
"They have the right to demand transparency because they are the ones contesting the election," Nababan said.
Nababan said the wider the government opened its door to public scrutiny the better the election would be.
"Inviting foreigners to promote the government's credibility is okay, but why not allow Indonesian citizens first to monitor the polls?" Nababan said.
He said the presence of an independent election watchdog was also required to guarantee the polls were run fairly and honestly.
The government has warned an election watchdog, the Independent Election Monitoring Committee led by Goenawan Mohamad, editor of the now-banned Tempo weekly magazine, against intervening in ballot counting.
Nababan said all members of the human rights body would monitor the polls. It would also receive reports of human rights violations during the election.
"We may form an investigation team to recheck the reports and convey them to the government if they are true," he said.
Budyatna believed Golkar would take the lion's share of votes in the upcoming election because it was well organized and had massive funds at its disposal. In contrast, the PPP and PDI have yet to receive government funding before they can join the general election campaign, scheduled to begin late next month.
"Even without having to cheat, Golkar will emerge the winner. It would be better if they, as a massive group, invited their tiny rivals to take part in all stages of the polls," Budyatna said. (amd)