Party chiefs denied access to election results database
Party chiefs denied access to election results database
JAKARTA (JP): Access to the computerized election results
database is being granted to five senior government officials but
not to the party chiefs, the National Elections Committee said
yesterday.
The officials are President Soeharto, Vice President Try
Sutrisno, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, Minister of
Home Affairs/Chairman of the General Elections Institute Moch.
Yogie S.M. and Minister of Information Harmoko.
Deputy Secretary-General of the National Elections Committee
Walujo said: "The five officials will be able to access the
electronic ballot-counting through a database installed at their
offices or at their homes."
About 124 million Indonesians are registered to vote at
305,219 polling stations across the country tomorrow. Preliminary
results from counting in the 27 provinces will be broadcast by
state television TVRI from 7 p.m. on election day. Updates will
be broadcast every hour.
The final results will be officially announced some time in
the middle of next month.
Walujo said the chairmen of the three political contestants
Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) were not given access to the database for
financial reasons.
"We do not have the money to install the electronic
transmission equipment (at the offices of) the chairmen of the
three contestants," he said.
But he offered them a daily comprehensive update of the ballot
counting at the National Elections Committee headquarters.
Denying the party chairmen access raised questions over access
being given to Harmoko, who is also the Golkar chief.
Walujo argued that the privilege was given to Harmoko in his
capacity as the information minister, not as the Golkar chairman.
Chairman of the Coordinating Board for the General Election
Communications Rear Marshal Sardjono said that, besides the five
senior government officials, only selected election committee
members would have access to the database.
Sardjono said requests to access the system services would
only be granted if the identity of the sender and the receiver
was acknowledged by the system.
"Requests by unidentified and unauthorized people will be
automatically rejected by the system," he said.
Speaking about the flow of information from the regions to
Jakarta, Sardjono said the transmission would start from each
polling station.
He said that an officer on duty at each polling station would
send the results electronically to the subdistrict polling
center.
Each subdistrict would then send their collated results to the
regency or mayoralty polling center.
Sardjono said this process would continue until the results
reached the General Elections Committee's headquarters. (imn)