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)