Poll teaches bad lesson, says PPP

JAKARTA (JP): The Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) says this election serves bad political education to the people because it has been riddled with vote rigging and cheating.

PPP deputy chairman Jusuf Syakir said the party had found that "99.9 percent" of poll rigging cases were committed by government officials who meant to help Golkar.

"We are very concerned about these widespread violations. What will our nation become if its people are given this kind of political education?" he told journalists.

Syakir pointed out that high school students were taught to cheat by teachers who gave them more than one voting form so that they could vote for Golkar at home and at school.

Clerks at the House of Representatives were given Rp 300,000 (US$125) so that they voted for a certain contestant, he added.

"The nation's leaders should honestly ask themselves if this is the kind of general election we all want," he said.

As the ballot counting nears completion nationally, PPP won over 22 percent of vote. It comes after Golkar, which has the support of the bureaucracy, the military, civil services and businesses, which had won over 74 percent by yesterday.

PPP, known as a conservative party, has aggressively uncovered what it sees as widespread poll rigging and intimidation across Indonesia.

In the most prominent case, PPP supporters in Sampang, East Java, went on a rampage on the night of May 29. They alleged that PPP scrutinizers were intimidated and ballot papers counted at the house of a subdistrict chief.

The rioters targeted government offices, police stations, Golkar offices, residents of Golkar officials, Golkar supporters' homes, vandalized a bridge and burned vehicles and ballot boxes.

The violence has prompted the government to make an unprecedented move to repeat the balloting tomorrow at 86 polling stations in Sampang.

East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman said yesterday that new polls would only be held at the 86 polling stations in Sampang and that the same demand in other areas was rejected.

PPP officials in Sampang are determined to reject the rerun if it is only applied to 86 polling stations. They demanded that the election in all 1,033 polling stations be repeated because poll rigging was everywhere.

Mob violence was also reported in the West Java regency of Serang yesterday when people unhappy with poll results burned down a village hall.

Meanwhile, PPP claimed yesterday widespread poll rigging also occurred in East Java regencies of Sumenep and Bangkalan, in the Riau regency of Kampar, in West Sumatra, in North Bengkulu, in Yogyakarta, and in Jakarta

Syakir said in yesterday's press conference, "We have rejected the polling results in Madura regencies of Sumenep, Pamekasan, Bangkalan, and Sampang; North Bengkulu; North Lampung and Tanah Datar in West Sumatra."

In a statement made available to the media, PPP's North Bengkulu and West Sumatra chapters have respectively called for a rerun and evaluation of the election.

South Sulawesi PPP chairman Arsjad Pana told reporters in Ujungpandang yesterday that the party rejected the polling results in all 23 regencies in the province, alleging vote rigging and intimidation of voters.

The North Sulawesi PPP chapter of Gorontalo has also called for an election rerun because of alleged vote rigging. The local election committee chairman Imam Nooriman turned down the request, Antara reported yesterday.

Also yesterday, Jakarta's PPP chapter revealed 26 election violations committed by mostly officials and Golkar functionaries during the May 24 to May 28 cooling-off period, May 29 election day and vote counting days.

When asked if PPP would reject this year's final polling results if the government refused to comply with the party's requests for election reruns in many areas, Syakir said the party would first see if the government followed up on its reports.

"All PPP is doing is letting the government and people know that cheating went on in the election. If these allegations aren't properly followed up by the government, we'll see what cases they are and then we'll decide what action to take."

PPP leaders from all over Indonesia will meet this Thursday to discuss the party's stance on the alleged rigging.

In a related development, the PPP central board in Jakarta has instructed all party chapters nationwide to prepare to take legal action against poll rigging.

In a letter signed by Jusuf Syakir and PPP secretary-general Tosari Widjaya, PPP told local chapters to file complaints over criminal violations to the police and prepare legal civil suits against local election committee chairmen.

"In case our complaints aren't properly followed up by the police, we will make public details of poll rigging committed by government officials," Syakir said.

He said that the party would cooperate with the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin) and the PPP's Legal Aid Institute to prepare the lawsuits. (23/30/37/nur/aan)

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