Parties wait till Monday deadline

Parties wait till Monday deadline

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) is expecting an
extra-heavy workload on Monday, as all 24 political
parties contesting the 2004 elections will rush to
beat the deadline for registration of legislative
candidates.

As of 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, no party had turned up to the
KPU office on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Central Jakarta, to
the disappointment of the commission's deputy chairman,
Ramlan Surbakti, who had been waiting for the parties
for almost the whole day.

Rumor had it that the ruling Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) would complete its list of
legislative candidates on Sunday. The party submitted
on Saturday 213 aspirants from 18 provinces to the
commission, making it the only election contender to
have submitted its legislative candidates, albeit in
part.

Political parties have blamed a variety of difficulties
faced by their legislative candidates in obtaining
the required documents for their failure to submit the
names before the deadline.

The Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB)
have complained of difficulty in obtaining bills
of health from doctors in recognized hospitals.

Besides, the complicated process of short-listing candidates
has prompted the parties to delay their
registration with the KPU.

Separately, the Elections Supervisory Committee
(Panwaslu) warned of security concerns that might
disrupt elections in the conflict-prone provinces of
Nanggro Aceh Darussalam, Maluku, Papua and Central Sulawesi.

Panwaslu member Rozy Munir said people's skepticism of
the elections, security problems and armed violence
were the result of the proposed elections in Aceh of legislative
members and the president, where a major
offensive against rebels is still under way.

At least six Aceh regencies -- Aceh Jaya, Pidie, Bireuen,
North Aceh, Central Aceh and East Aceh -- were areas vulnerable
to conflict during the elections, according to Rozy.

Papua, meanwhile, is currently plagued by controversy
over the establishment of new provinces, public
distrust in local government, conflict between local
political elite groups, ethnic clashes and armed
violence -- problems that Rozy said could jeopardize the
elections.

Papua's regencies/municipalities of Jayapura, Sentani,
Mimika and Manokwari were the areas most prone to
conflict during next year's elections, he added.

In Central Sulawesi, the planned establishment of a
new province, the segregation of areas based on ethnicity
and religion, and the presence of thousands of
displaced people could hamper the elections, Rozy
said. He also gave a reminder about the need for extra
precautions in view of potential conflict in Poso and Morowali
during the elections.

Segregation of areas by religion and unresolved
refugee problems will also pose a threat to elections
in the Maluku capital, Ambon, and Central Maluku
regency.

"Potential conflicts in those provinces
could seriously threaten the success of the 2004
elections," Didik Supriyanto, another Panwaslu member
told a media conference held by Panwaslu and the Peace
Building Institute (ITP).

He said, for example, in Maluku, a political party
due to hold an election campaign in several
Muslim-based areas would have to pass predominantly
Christian areas.

"Therefore, if someone provokes or triggers an issue
that offends another religious community during a
rally, there could be a riot," he said.
He added that in Central Sulawesi, if a political party
raised the issue of the establishment of a new
province, it might stimulate violence among local
people.

Therefore, he said, restrictions during the campaigning
period must be imposed in conflict-ridden
provinces, such as a ban against mass rallies.

"Peaceful campaigning must be carried out by political
parties, particularly in those areas," he said, adding
that at present he saw parties in those provinces
had a commitment to peace.

Meanwhile, Ichsan Malik, Director of the ITP said
elections should reconcile rather than trigger conflict.
"We do not want Poso part II or Ambon part II to
occur as we know the bloody conflicts in both Poso and Ambon
broke out prior to the 1999 elections," he said.