PDI wants people to form elections watch committees

PDI wants people to form elections watch committees

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) appealed on Saturday to people throughout Indonesia to form their own watch committees in their district to prevent cheating in the 1997 general election.

The proposal came during a discussion last Saturday on how to ensure a clean and honest election next year. The discussion, organized by PDI as part of its 23rd commemoration anniversary, also featured former home minister Rudini.

Both Soerjadi and Rudini ruled out bringing in foreign observers to witness the election as a way of preventing cheating.

Despite acknowledging that complaints or allegations of rigging raised by foreign observers carry more weight than if they were made by Indonesians, Soerjadi said "I still don't feel it's right to have foreign observers."

Rudini rejected the idea saying that "it would not leave a good impression of Indonesia."

With the election just a year away, the PDI and the other minority party, the United Development Party (PPP) are pressing the government to tighten the election regulations and ensure that all fraud be exposed and punished.

The parties said past elections were fraught with violations committed by Golkar, the dominant political group, which has won the past five general elections.

Soerjadi said the most practical way of ensuring an honest and fair election is if people themselves scrutinize the ballot boxes, and keep their eye on the whole process, from voting all the way to the ballot count.

He said university students could take the initiative to form the voluntary watch committees.

"There's no need to ask for permission from the government. Just go ahead and do it," he said, pointing out that it was the legitimate prerogative of the people to do so.

He recalled that in 1992, PDI solicited the help of university students to monitor the balloting in East Java, which resulted in a significant increase of votes for the party.

Rudini stressed that a more orderly and correct implementation of the general election regulations could prevent violations or keep them to the minimum.

He said that election mechanisms were already adequate, and that there was no need to change or add to them.

"There must be clear guidelines for administration officials on how they should act in implementing the rules for the general election," he said. (mds)