PPI ratifies poll results, Panwaslu and KPU to follow

PPI ratifies poll results, Panwaslu and KPU to follow

JAKARTA (JP): The National Elections Committee (PPI) ratified
on Saturday the June 7 poll results, marking the completion of a
drawn-out vote count and setting the stage for the formation of
the national legislature and selection of the next president.

"This is one of the final stages of the very complicated and
difficult process," said Jacob Tobing, chairman of the PPI, after
leading a plenary session which agreed to endorse the results of
the voting held in 27 provinces and 108 overseas polling places.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the official
Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said they would also
endorse the results in their meetings next week. However, they
planned to attach notes of reservation.

KPU chairman Rudini and Panwaslu member Arief Rachman asserted
that all poll violation reports must be processed, with violators
disciplined by administrative or criminal sanctions.

Arief said reported poll violations would not lead the
official poll watchdog body to refuse endorsement of the vote
count result, because violations were committed by all 48
political parties.

The official committee, however, would make its reservation
known by attaching notes containing its evaluation of the quality
and "the degree of the validity of the poll result." Arief said
the body would also recommend that violations be prosecuted.

Both KPU and Panwaslu have the authority to decide whether the
elections were valid or defective. The authority of the KPU is
guaranteed by the 1999 Electoral Law, while Panwaslu's authority
is specified by Government Decree No. 33/1999 on Practical
Guidelines of the General Election.

KPU and Panwaslu have been involved in a dispute over the past
few weeks, with one challenging the other's authority to validate
the poll results.

The development came amid speculation that a closed-door deal
was clinched on Friday, offsetting an earlier threat by smaller
parties to render the polls invalid by refusing to endorse the
results.

Rudini confirmed an agreement to support the poll results
followed a meeting on Friday evening of 20 parties represented in
the KPU.

He refused to name the parties, saying he only remembered one
politician representing the Indonesian Democratic Union Party
(PUDI). The Jakarta Post tried to confirm the meeting with PUDI
chairman Sri Bintang Pamungkas on Saturday. He, however was
unavailable for comment on Saturday.

Rudini dismissed speculation of a political deal with the
smaller parties. "No, it's not like that. No concession was
offered to the political parties to sign the official poll
report," he said.

KPU members, especially those whose parties failed to secure a
seat in the House of Representatives (DPR), had previously
threatened to refuse to sign the poll results if incidents of
election fraud and irregularities were not settled. Earlier, the
parties were accused of hampering subsequent election stages when
with the original June 21 deadline approaching, they could not
agree to the start of the national vote count.

The deadline was eventually extended to July 6.

A senior KPU official recently said he would push for reward
to be made to the party representatives because they had helped
ensure successful elections.

Valid

Arief said the PPI's ratification of the poll results was
lawful, because the meeting participants fulfilled a quorum.

"Thirty-seven of the 52-members of PPI signed the official
poll report, while the remaining 15 members declined to sign the
documents," he said.

The official report was then submitted to KPU chairman Rudini,
who will lead the body deliberating the document in a plenary
session on Monday.

"The poll results will be officially validated in another KPU
plenary meeting as soon as possible," Rudini said after the PPI
plenary meeting.

The KPU has not decided when it will officially validate the
poll results. Some commission officials said it would be
validated on July 21, while others have specified July 25.

Present at the Saturday plenary meeting were PPI deputy
chairmen Hasballah M. Saad and Djuhad Mahja, secretary Rasyidi
and deputy secretary Abdy Kusumanegara. Also present were
secretary to the Panwaslu Satya Arinanto and a member of the
Panwaslu Dadang Hawari.

A preliminary calculation by the Post, ahead of an
announcement of stembus akoord (vote-sharing) agreements, put the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the
lead by securing 154 seats in the 500-strong DPR, leaving the
ruling Golkar Party in second place with 120 seats.

The United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening
Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) followed with
58, 51 and 35 seats respectively.(imn)