Poll watchdogs vow to go all out

As the general election draws near, things are not running smoothly, particularly preparations for poll monitoring. There are also other hurdles, such as coordinating poll watchdogs, and legal constraints. The Jakarta Post team of Benget Simbolon, Dwi Atmanta, Edith Hartanto, Ridwan Sijabat, Riyadi, Yogita Tahil Rahmani and Moh. Yazid digs over the issue.

JAKARTA (JP): With the general election barely six weeks away, nobody is certain that the event, supposed to be the most democratic means to select representatives of the people, will run in a fair and just manner.

Violence, money politics and power abuses remain rampant and a hat full of blatant irregularities have been witnesses in public view. It is as if nothing has really changed since the fall of Soeharto's authoritarian New Order regime.

As the national coordinator of the University Network for Free and Fair Elections (Unfrel), Todung Mulya Lubis, put it, the June 7 elections will greatly resemble those in the past, in terms of cheating by political groups defending the status quo.

Unfrel announced results of its early monitoring efforts recently, with six violations of campaign regulations found. Five of the violations, mostly involving the use of state facilities for party interests, were attributed to the Golkar Party, and one to the United Development Party (PPP).

A much debated item on the list of official violations has been Cabinet ministers' eligibility to campaign. A recent law bans high-ranking officials to do so, but there have been worries that it state facilities are prone to misuse as in the past. The government, defending its old practices, plans to issue a ruling to break the deadlock immediately before the campaign period starts on May 19.

"The absence of sanctions in the newly passed Elections Law for Cabinet ministers who campaign while on official trips is the starkest evidence of unfairness," Todung said.

The euphoria that followed last year's major upheaval has resulted in a series of brawls pitting supporters of rival parties against another, leading to several deaths. The latest clash took place in Purbalingga, Central Java, on April 2 when a group of people wearing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle attire spoiled a planned Golkar function.

Other skirmishes which have occurred, many not reported, should ring warning bells to the nation that the upcoming elections are as prone to conflict as ever. It has been a wearying contradiction to the democratic nature of elections that fear tactics have continually shown up in every election held under the New Order.

With 48 parties, the largest number registered in Indonesia's history, contesting the June 7 polls, it is understandable that people are fearful of violence ahead of the elections.

A survey conducted by Kompas daily late last month revealed that 78 percent of the 765 people polled were worried about the security situation in the run-up to the general election.

In response to the worrying number of violations, Independent Elections Monitoring Committee secretary-general Mulyana W. Kusumah urged the Supreme Court to take some initiative.

"The Supreme Court is supposed to give legal rulings on alleged violations as part of its position as chief supervisor of the elections," Mulyana said.

The Supreme Court has instructed district courts, through a March 17 circular, to set up "special councils" to try alleged violations of election laws. But no electoral violations have so far gone to court.

More violations are expected to be left unnoticed, particularly in remote areas which poll watchdogs will be unable to reach.

Unfrel is only one of 26 domestic poll monitoring bodies accredited so far to watch over the election process. Together they are thought to boast over half a million volunteers.

Unlike in the past, when independent poll watchdogs were considered unconstitutional, a group intending to observe the polls now needs only to pass administrative screening to gain the license to take on the monitoring task. The General Elections Commission (KPU) will give them accesses to all information, except to ballot sheets.

Apart from Unfrel, the Indonesian Rectors' Forum and the Independent Elections Monitoring Committee (KIPP) have won the trust of and have been promised US$36 million in financial assistance from the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP).

Foreign observers will also support the monitoring bodies. They will include a 70-strong team formed by the Atlanta-based Carter Center, the National Democratic Institute and other observer groups.

There will be 251,000 polling booths across the country.

The monitoring bodies are racing against time not only to recruit as many volunteers as possible, but more importantly to train recruits on how to carry out their jobs.

Apart from their respective internal problems, the poll monitoring bodies are having difficulties coordinating with other bodies because of overlapping coverage.

The three UNDP-sanctioned poll watchers, Unfrel, the Rectors' Forum and KIPP, meet routinely to enable cooperation with each other. The three have agreed upon, among other things, codes of conduct, recruitment and training methods.

However, a major legal barrier will limit the effectiveness of poll watchdogs on the validity of the elections.

"Unlike their counterparts in the Philippines, poll watchdogs here play a peripheral role in the elections. Not only because they cannot act as witnesses, but they also have no right to protest against violations," Todung said.

Only parties contesting the election have the right to protest, according to the Election Law.

Findings of the Asian Network for Free and Fair Elections (Anfrel) reveal that poll observers have another stiff challenge in educating voters.

A survey recently conducted by Anfrel -- a Forum Asia initiative made up of election monitoring and human rights organizations in the Asia Pacific region -- as well as KIPP, the Independent Journalists Association (AJI) and the Asian Network for Democracy in Indonesia (ANDI) showed that most Indonesians do not yet understand the voter registration process or know which party they would vote for.

"People living in rural areas are still confused about which parties to vote for. Many don't even know there are now 48 contestants," team survey leader Saiyud Kerdphol said.

In Medan, Anfrel ran a trial ballot with five people, all of them claiming to be supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). Only two chose the right party symbol on the ballot paper. The other three picked similar symbols depicting a bull's head, but belonging to different parties.

But despite the shortcomings, the elections must go ahead, according to Todung.

"Perhaps we cannot 100 percent guarantee that the polls will run in a just and free way this year, but at least we hope for more democratic general elections to come in the future," he said. (team)