Provinces play catch-up in tabulating ballots

Provinces play catch-up in tabulating ballots

JAKARTA (JP): A handful more provinces completed on Monday the
tabulation of votes from the June 7 elections, several days past
the June 17 deadline set for final tallies to be submitted.

The West Java electoral committee wrapped up the count and
approved the results at 1 a.m. on Monday, a few hours after South
Kalimantan, Aceh and West Sumatra.

Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Timor and Bali are the other
provinces to have completed their vote count.

It took the West Java election committee two days to finish
counting 23,797,277 ballots cast in 28 regencies and mayoralties.
The committee found 756,235 invalid ballots.

Its final standings put the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) on the top with 7,583,503 votes for the
House of Representatives. Second was the Golkar Party (5,439,334)
followed by United Development Party (PPP/3,513,348) and National
Mandate Party (PAN/1,707,252).

Of the 82 House seats on offer in the country's most populous
province, 72 went to seven major parties. The remaining 10 seats
will be distributed among parties which have agreed to pool their
votes.

Secretary of the West Java electoral committee Istomo Gatot
said the results were legitimate because they were approved by
two thirds of 48 parties registered in the province. The ballots
were delivered to Jakarta shortly after the final tally was
announced.

Antara reported from Aceh that the local election committee
concluded its vote tabulation on Sunday evening, despite
disruption of the polls in the three troubled regencies of Pidie,
North Aceh and East Aceh and in Teunom subdistrict in West Aceh.
Repolling in the areas is tentative despite approval from the
National Election Committee (PPI), the committee said.

The provincial election committee also excluded ballots cast
in eight subdistricts in East Aceh, West Aceh and Southeast Aceh
regencies due to technical matters.

At the end of the 48-hour-long vote count, PPP gained 254,148
votes for the House of 885,420 ballots cast. PAN collected
162,930, followed by Golkar with 135,117.

Nearly 1.5 million people were registered to vote in the
province, home to increased antigovernment activity in the past
few months.

In West Sumatra, protests marred the announcement of the final
tally, in which Golkar narrowly beat PAN and PPP.

Golkar collected 459,577 votes for the House, turning the
tables on preelection favorite PAN which gained 430,848. PPP
received 400,702 for third. PDI Perjuangan, which reigned supreme
in Java, ranked fourth with 231,759 votes.

Golkar's victory was tarnished by allegations that it
justified unscrupulous tactics to gain votes. Suardi Chaniago of
People's Choice Party (Pilar), Eddy Dasril of the Murba Party and
Sonny Syahreno of Justice and Unity Party (PKP) demanded that
Golkar be disqualified for violations it committed prior to
election day.

"How can we accept a Golkar victory if its foul play is left
unnoticed by the election supervisory committee?" Sonny said.

Angry Murba executives fired several party cadres were
assigned as poll witnesses for signing allegedly dubious results.

Golkar also finished on top in South Kalimantan, taking
357,289 out of 1,486,242 votes cast in the province. PDI
Perjuangan was second (316,660 votes) followed by the PPP
(251,193).

The provincial election committee found 67,268 invalid votes.
The final tally was sent to Jakarta on Monday, according to
committee secretary Bambang Rachmadi.(28/43/amd)