Poll watchdogs battle limited resources

Poll watchdogs battle limited resources

By Tjahjono Ep.

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesian people, still euphoric over last
year's downfall of strongman Soeharto, are bracing for a
supposedly democratic general election scheduled for Monday.

The election is expected to result in a legitimate government
which can accommodate the interests of numerous political groups.
Many want to see a fundamental change in all aspects of life
after 32 years of Soeharto's authoritarian rule.

To ensure a fair and democratic election, numerous poll
watchdogs have sprung up. World organizations like the United
Nations Development Programs (UNDP) and concerned countries have
offered financial assistance.

Several foreign monitoring groups have also sent
representatives.

Over the past three months or so, the following poll watchdogs
have been established: the Rectors Forum, the University Network
For Free Elections (Unfrel) and the Society Network for Election
Monitoring (JAMPPI). Local activists have also formed their own
monitoring groups, such as ones based at Gadjah Mada University
and Atmajaya University.

The oldest grouping is the Independent Elections Monitoring
Committee, which was formed to monitor the 1997 elections
organized by the Soeharto regime.

The hasty formation of the numerous poll watchdogs has raised
doubts about their credibility. Skeptics say that some were
motivated by the money that international donors offered.

"I'm afraid some activists are busy fighting for money rather
than monitoring the election process," says Rofiq, a 27-year-old
employee of a private company.

Pratikno, a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University's School of
Sociopolitical Science, is one of the observers who doubt the
poll monitoring activists' readiness.

He says the numerous monitoring groups do not coordinate
regarding the locations they plan to observe. Many have misplaced
priorities. They concentrate on Java, while areas prone to
rigging are mostly outside of Java.

Some focus on the violations of electoral laws perpetrated by
military officers and government officials, but overlook gross
violations committed by the contesting political parties.

He points out that another major weakness was the activists'
lack of knowledge about electoral laws and the sociopolitical
situation of the area they would monitor.

Limited resources

Unfrel has recruited 920 volunteers from various universities
in Yogyakarta.

Danang Arafa, coordinator of Unfrel activists in Yogyakarta,
said the students were enthusiastic about taking part in the poll
monitoring activities.

"Some joined Unfrel because they want to earn money and others
want to get experience while they are on vacation," he said.

In Yogyakarta province, Unfrel has concentrated its activities
on monitoring campaigning in Bantul, Wonosari, Sleman, Kulon
Progo, Gunungkidul and in Yogyakarta mayoralty. It refused to
uncover its findings for publication because observations needed
to be cross-checked.

Unfrel in Yogyakarta received a Rp 13.8 million budget. The
large number of volunteers has forced it to halve the planned Rp
30,000 transport allowance for each volunteer.

It will watch vote casting in 1,050 polling places on election
day in Sleman, Kulon Progo and Bantul regencies. It is unable to
observe polling in Gunungkidul and Yogyakarta mayoralty due to
insufficient volunteers.

Unfrel volunteers will use walkie-talkies. In the villages,
and there will be mobile teams in charge of collecting data from
polling places to be pooled at headquarters.

So far, Unfrel had established 31 command posts in the city
with none so far established at village level, Danang said.

Meanwhile, the Rectors Forum in Yogyakarta claimed it had
recruited 5,000 volunteers, but only 2,500 of those had been
trained. It planned to recruit another 2,000 volunteers.

Spokesman for the forum, Sabirin, said each volunteer was
entitled to accommodation and transport allowances. He declined
to divulge the allowance amounts.

During the campaign period, from May 19 through June 4, the
forum has mobilized 1,500 volunteers to monitor activities.
Sabirin said 50 percent of the volunteers were college students,
30 percent were teachers and 20 percent were people from other
backgrounds. It has so far reported 29 cases of violation of
campaigning rules across the Yogyakarta province.

With 7,000 volunteers, the Rectors Forum means to monitor
every polling place in Yogyakarta. They will report findings to
the forum's headquarters in Bandung, which will assess the
general election based on findings from across the country.

The KIPP volunteers in Yogyakarta are probably the best
prepared. It has conducted 20 training sessions for its 1,500
volunteers of various professional backgrounds. KIPP has forged
links with Sanata Dharma Catholic University, which allows its
students to perform poll monitoring in place of their regular
field service.

Yogyakarta KIPP spokesman Abdur Rozaki said the committee does
not promise volunteers any financial rewards because of a lack of
funds, but workers do receive a transportation allowance.

As of Monday, KIPP had reported 70 cases concerning violation
of campaigning rules, including misuse of places of worship for
campaign purposes, village chiefs manipulating data on voters,
money politics by the Golkar Party and the People's Sovereignty
Party (PDR) and party supporters carrying firearms while
campaigning.

It has established command posts in the mayoralty and the four
regencies across Yogyakarta province. It has also organized
various seminars and TV talk shows on the elections.

Due to the limited number of volunteers, KIPP Yogyakarta will
monitor only selected polling places.

According to Rozaki, as of Monday, only 300 of the KIPP
volunteers had received accreditation from the Yogyakarta
Elections Committee.