Poll watchdogs vow to go all out

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)