Protests continue over vote-rigging

JAKARTA (JP): Parties which have performed poorly in the polls continued on Thursday their allegations of vote-rigging in several provinces and reiterated demands for a repeat of the polls.

In Semarang, the capital of Central Java, provincial elections committee chairman Hadi Pranoto lashed out at political parties which threatened to reject the elections result. Many of the parties will fail to obtain the minimum vote requirement in order to qualify for the next elections.

Hadi said it was too late for the political parties to reject the General Election Law which requires a party to win at least 2 percent of the vote in order to survive.

"It does not make sense at all. Why did they insist on contesting the June 7 polls if it turned out they refused to abide by the law?" said Hadi.

On Thursday, 11 political parties, which obtained no more than 1,000 votes respectively in Central Java constituency, threatened to withhold their approval for the polls.

Central Java's National Democrats Party (PND) chairman Ponco Wijoyo criticized the restrictive regulation which will relegate their political aspirations.

"We only had four months to prepare, so it is impossible for us to obtain the minimum seats," he said.

In North Maluku regency, Maluku, 19 of 27 political parties contesting the polls in the islands said they would not approve the official elections result until the provincial election supervisory committee stepped up measures against rampant violations in the polls.

The regency elections committee also wrote to the regent, asking him to dismiss 16 civil servants for intimidating people to vote for Golkar.

Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina promised to enforce strict measures against the civil servants if they were found guilty. According to the Election Law, civil servants are required to adopt a neutral position during the polls.

"I will punish them," said the governor.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Education and Information, announced the results of its survey in the province on Thursday in which less than 31,000 ballots were damaged for unclear reasons.

According to the survey, in Gunung Sari, West Lombok, 700 voters could not exercise their right to vote due to ballot shortages. The survey also reported that Golkar distributed soap and money to potential voters.

"In our analysis, elections have not been fully just and fair here," said Suhardi Surjadi, the head of the institute.

Vice chairman of Mataram's Justice and Unity Party (PKP) M. Amin confirmed that his party had offered to pay up to Rp 10,000 (more than US$1) for each vote from any political parties.

"It is a compensation for the costs they spent to buy T- shirts, flags and other campaign expenses," he said.

In Medan, North Sumatra, provincial police spokesman Lt. Col. Amrin Karim denied that police intelligence officer Zulfikar Basaudi had voted in Kenangan subdistrict in Deli Serdang regency.

"The Indonesian Military (TNI) already has 38 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), so why must we ask him to vote for our interests?" Amrin said.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, Banggai Regent Sudarto strongly denied ordering 15 heads of districts and all subdistricts in the regency to ensure a Golkar victory in the regency.

He confirmed he sent a radiogram to his subordinates. However he insisted the letter only contained instructions to be neutral during the election process.

"I never sent an instruction in the interest of a certain political party," said the regent on Thursday.

In Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, the Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy disclosed that at least 55 underaged children voted in Jayawijaya regency.

The institute cited as an example that Bertha Matuan, 15, and Lina Matuan, 16, represented their parents in Wesaput village, in Wamena.

Biak's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairman Hengky Satsuitubun, conceded on Wednesday that he had received Rp 2 million from Biak Regent A. Sroyer. However he insisted that all party representatives received the same amount from the regent to fund their activities.

"I would not sacrifice my integrity just for money," he said when asked about the financial assistance. (har/48/49/40/38/34/prb)