'Public will judge' govt's reaction to PPP's protests

'Public will judge' govt's reaction to PPP's protests

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party's (PPP) secretary-
general said yesterday the public would judge the government by
its response to growing protests over vote-rigging and election
irregularities.

"People will just judge for themselves if the government
decides to ignore the blatant and shameless election fraud,"
secretary-general Tosari Widjaya said.

"Let's wait and see how the government will respond to our
party's protests," he said.

Tosari told The Jakarta Post that, despite earlier protests,
most of the party's chapter and branches had indicated that they
would endorse the election results.

The party is expected to announce a final decision on
endorsement in the next few days.

"Our latest stance is to strongly protest (the alleged rigging
and cheating)," Tosari said, referring to a statement of protest
issued at the end of the party's three-day leadership meeting
last week.

The statement said this year's election had been marred by
"vote-buying, intimidation, mental and physical terror as well as
other widespread blatant and shameless violations and fraud".

The central board's leaders have called on chapters and
branches nationwide to take legal and political action against
electoral fraud, which was allegedly mostly committed by local
electoral committees.

"Politically, we've threatened not to sign the poll's final
results and not follow the election's next phases. We are also
preparing lawsuits against violators," Tosari said.

But he was pessimistic about the outcome of legal action. "We
realize we can not rely 100 percent on court settlements," Tosari
said.

All PPP chapters and branches, except the West Sumatra chapter
and the branch in riot-stricken Sampang on Madura island, East
Java, had agreed to sign the final results in their areas, he
said.

The high-profile PPP Jakarta chapter, which has threatened not
to sign final election results because of alleged widespread
vote-rigging and irregularities, would sign next Monday, its
chairman Rusjdi Hamka said yesterday.

Rusjdi denied the stance was an anticlimax, saying the chapter
would proceed with legal action against alleged violators.

The West Sumatra PPP chapter's chairman, Darmadi, said
yesterday his chapter would not sign "until the last minute". The
chapter is protesting the local electoral committee's decision to
dismiss its demand for a revote.

"Our choice not to sign will stand. We're sending a message to
the government that we, the religious and democratic West
Sumatrans, cannot tolerate fraud," Darmadi told the Post.

"The (PPP in) West Sumatra lost two seats at the House of
Representatives because of the widespread fraud in the province.
How can we accept it?" he said.

Asked whether the West Sumatra chapter's refusal to sign would
cause the loss of PPP seats in the House, PPP deputy chairman
Hamzah Haz said: "Not necessarily."

"The central board will summon (Darmadi) and ask him to
explain why the chapter insists on not signing," Hamzah said.

He said the central board had the authority to "instruct"
party chapters to accept election results. On Wednesday, the
party's central executive board issued a statement indicating
that it would let branches and chapters decide their own stance.

The deadline for signing final election results in regencies
was yesterday. It is June 17 for provincial results and June 24
for national results. (aan)