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)