Police told to focus on five big parties

JAKARTA (JP): The Election Supervisory Committee suggested on Thursday that security forces focus their job on the five political parties with the best chance to win at the polls.

Mulyana W. Kusumah, deputy chairman of the committee, told The Jakarta Post that executives of the official poll watch would present the proposal in a meeting with National Police and the National Elections Committee on Sunday.

The meeting, the first to involve the three institutions, will deal with measures to curb violence and other violations in the remaining election stages.

Mulyana identified the parties as the ruling Golkar, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), National Awakening Party (PKB), United Development Party (PPP) and National Mandate Party (PAN).

"I think the best possible way (to curb conflict and violence during the poll process) is for the security forces to focus on the big five. They have a huge number of supporters who are evident to be vulnerable to clashes," Mulyana, who is also secretary-general of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), said.

Repeated election-related violence flared up among the parties recently, with PDI Perjuangan supporters mostly fighting their Golkar counterparts and PKB supporters in a grassroots battle with bitter rivals from PPP. At least 10 people were killed in the political conflict.

Mulyana warned that Golkar could fall victim to further violence due to the intensifying campaign by certain parties labeling the ruling party as "the common enemy", and could thus deserve punishment.

"This situation is dangerous because nonpartisan people may join in the move and this could spark mass violence," he said.

The opposition movement against Golkar has stepped up a gear after three reform parties, PDI Perjuangan, PKB and PAN, signed a joint-communique to fight the "status quo force" earlier this week.

Mulyana said hostility between supporters of PKB and PPP needed extra monitoring, so did PAN supporters who had recently fallen prey to violence in several areas in Central Java.

Apart from monitoring violations, the committee will try its best to enforce the election rules, according to Mulyana.

"But it's hard to do so because all parties have breached the rules," he said.

Earlier, his colleague, Todung Mulya Lubis, complained that the committee failed to impose punishments on errant parties, due to fears that this would only spark anger.

Electoral violations carry a maximum sentence of a five-year imprisonment and maximum fines worth Rp 10 million (US$1,250). The heaviest offenses include faking registration cards, disrupting the polls, counterfeiting documents of legislative candidates, multiple voting and vote rigging.

Fines would be imposed on negligent polling committee officials and people who exceed the maximum financial assistance for a party. Organizations and individuals are allowed to contribute no more than Rp 150 million and Rp 10 million respectively.

The official poll watchdog is entitled to bar a party from holding electoral rallies under an offense.

In Bogor, West Java, thousands of PDI Perjuangan supporters held a street rally across the town with convoys of motorcycles, cars and trucks, despite an earlier agreement that a party was not allowed to mobilize its mass from one district to another. (edt/24)