Poll watchdog seeks government recognition

Poll watchdog seeks government recognition

JAKARTA (JP): Senior activists of the controversial
Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) called on the
government yesterday to recognize it officially.

They said official recognition would demonstrate the
government's obligation to improve the political awareness of the
Indonesian public.

Committee secretary-general Mulyana W. Kusumah and chief of
the committee's operational division Paskah Irianto said similar
poll watchdogs were recognized in democratic countries like
Thailand and the Philippines.

Mulyana said the Philippines had the National Citizens
Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and Thailand had Pollwatch,
all recognized by their governments.

"It's a global trend now for independent poll watchdogs to co-
exist with governments' electoral supervision commissions. It
happens in countries in South America, Africa, and East Europe,"
Mulyana said.

Paskah said every democratic government should recognize
organizations founded with the intention of helping the
population learn about democracy.

The committee was established in March this year by more than
50 journalists, lawyers, statesmen, academics and activists. It
is chaired by Goenawan Mohamad, former editor-in-chief of the
Tempo weekly closed by the government in 1994.

The government has flatly rejected the watchdog body, branding
it "unconstitutional". Officials say the committee is not needed
because Indonesian already had the official the National Election
Committee.

Mulyana said the independent poll watchdog would prioritize
seven provinces in its operations. He said the committee had
representatives in 47 towns countrywide.

The priority provinces are Jakarta, West Java, Lampung, South
Sumatra, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi, and Central Java, Mulyana
said.

Mulyana and Paskah said the seven regions were picked, because
their representatives were the best equipped.

According to Mulyana, the committee had conducted training
through workshops for its volunteers, sending 26 of them to
Thailand, Philippines, Bangladesh and Egypt to learn from
independent pollwatch bodies there. As many as 2,000 volunteers
would join KIPP, he said.

The committee would record its findings and submit a report
and recommendations on improving elections to the government and
the public.

"In the report, KIPP will recommend changes so the country
will have a better and better election system," Mulyana said,
adding the reports would ready by June, a month after the
election. (08)