Rectors issue code for poll monitoring

By Ainur R. Sophiaan

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A national congress of rectors from dozens of institutions across the country issued a code of conduct which it suggested could be adopted by all volunteer poll monitors.

The congress, which ended Saturday at the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur, was held as part of the planned recruitment of 450,000 students to monitor voting at 75 percent of the estimated 600,000 polling booths during the general election scheduled for June 7.

The rectors are grouped in the Indonesian Rectors Forum, which has established the Independent Committee for the Elections and Democratization.

Taking part in the second congress were 139 representatives from various colleges and universities. The first congress of rectors was held in Bandung, West Java last November.

The nine-point code of conduct stated that poll monitors should be free from any political interests. This includes having no associations with any organization contesting the polls, not receiving funds or facilities from any poll contestant and being honest, objective and responsible to society and God.

Volunteers are also expected to respect human rights, to serve as poll monitors of their own free will and be willing to take an oath swearing them into their duties.

A number of independent election monitoring institutes have been established since the founding of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee, which monitored the 1997 polls.

Some officials, including Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono, have issued warnings about the possibility of students serving as poll monitors being injured. However, the current government is no longer opposed to independent monitors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding last week with the United Nations Development Program, which is coordinating foreign donations for election monitoring training projects.

The rector of Udayana University in Denpasar, I Ketut Sukardika, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that students involved in monitoring the polls should have "moral integrity" and adequate intellectual capacity. "We will not involve students who have been influenced by radical movements," the veterinarian said without naming any groups.

The second congress also agreed to establish a Human Resource Development Foundation to help monitor the elections, according to Anton Priyatno, the rector of Surabaya University, who was appointed secretary of the foundation.

The rector of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Lilik Hendrajaya, was appointed chairman of the foundation and Sukardika was named treasurer. Sujana Syafe'i, a professor at ITB, was named executive director.

Anton said the foundation would also recruit professors and employees from universities and colleges.

"The foundation's main task will be to form a network (of election monitors) between state-run and private institutions of higher education," Anton said.

Sujana said the foundation would first complete a comprehensive study of how free, fair and safe the elections could be expected to be. The study, which has begun, is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

The network will also monitor all phases of the poll on election day.

However, Sujana estimated that the foundation would only be able to monitor 3 percent of polling booths in each province.

The foundation also aims to provide voter education for 10 percent of the population, particularly first-time voters.

Sujana also said that independent election monitors would be trained in statistics at ITB. A network of computers would also be installed to support the operations.

Regarding a possible overlap with other independent poll observers, Anton suggested that all monitors cooperate in the undertaking. The Independent Election Monitoring Committee welcomes the additional election monitors given the vast amount of territory to be covered by the observers.

"We could divide the country between the monitors," Anton said, adding that the issue was being worked out.

Sujana estimated some Rp 140 billion would be needed to fund the election monitors, and said "several conglomerates" were ready to help as long as the use of the funds could be accounted for.