Poll body insists no problem in preparation

Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the bulk of unfinished work, the General Elections Commission (KPU) ensured on Saturday that election materials would be ready on time, saying preparations for their distribution was nearing completion.

"Up to this second, we remain upbeat about finishing the job on time. There's no need to declare an emergency, as we're committed to delivering all materials to the regions on time so that we can hold the April 5 elections as scheduled," KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah said.

Mulyana was responding to various reports questioning the KPU's ability to provide and distribute all election materials, including ballot papers, ballot boxes, polling booths and indelible ink, across the country on time.

Problems in the procurement of election materials has forced the KPU to move back the deadline for all materials to reach polling stations across the country from March 25 to March 30, or five days before the general election.

Around 147 million people are expected to elect their representatives in the legislative bodies.

The KPU's snail's paced progress in that area has raised fears that the elections, deemed the country's most democratic ever, may have to be delayed.

Concerns were such that President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided on Thursday to issue a decree on emergency funds for regional governments to ensure the smooth running of the elections.

The decree, which will allow regional governments to use the emergency funds in their respective annual budgets, is seen as an anticipatory move to equip regions whenever they have to step in and pick up the slack left by the KPU.

However, Mulyana insisted that everything was under control and there was no crisis in terms of material availability.

Mulyana added that as of Saturday, close to 100 percent of election materials, notably ballot boxes and polling booths, had been delivered to the regions.

All that is left is the printing and distribution of ballot papers, he added, although he was quick to add that it would be completed in the near future.

As for the millions of ballot papers found to be damaged or containing mistakes as reported earlier, Mulyana said they would be replaced and that reprinting was under way.

In Batam, Riau island, KPU member Hardi Hood said Batam was short of 62,424 ballot papers for the election of House of Representatives members. "We've notified the KPU in Jakarta about this, and if the rest (of the papers) have not been sent by the end of March, we'll print them ourselves."

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Lalu Serinata agreed to cover Rp 3.4 billion in additional funds needed to procure and distribute election materials.

"The amount is huge, but the provincial government promises to take care of it, to ensure the elections are trouble-free," Serinata said.