Sampang revoting to go on despite PPP protests

Sampang revoting to go on despite PPP protests

SURABAYA (JP): Today's election rerun in 86 polling stations
in Sampang regency on Madura island will be valid even if the
United Development Party (PPP) decides not to send any of its
scrutineers, East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman said yesterday.

The electoral rules allowed the head of a polling station to
appoint volunteers as ballot scrutineers to represent any of the
three parties contesting the polls, Basofi said.

"The polling rerun will go on as planned ... If the PPP still
refuses to take part, then that's its choice. But the votes will
be valid," he told journalists.

The scrutineers' job includes endorsing the election results.

PPP officials in Sampang have demanded the repeat election be
held in all 1,033 polling stations in the Sampang regency, and
not just in the 86 polling stations selected by the government.

They said that unless their demand was met, they would not
send any party officials to endorse the election results in the
86 polling stations.

"We won't have anything to do with Wednesday's election rerun.
It (whatever happens) will be beyond our responsibilities,"
Djakfar Shadiq, a PPP official in Sampang, said.

The government has said the election rerun should be held in
polling stations where the ballot boxes were burned during three
days of unrest following the vote-counting after last Thursday's
nationwide election.

PPP officials pointed out that the violence was triggered by
claims of vote-rigging in the first place and therefore the new
election should be held in all polling stations in Sampang.

Basofi said it would be PPP's own loss if it refused to
endorse the repeat election, because it would not affect the
validity of the election.

"We've done our best, but people keep fussing around.

"This election rerun is already causing the government a
headache," the governor said.

Many PPP supporters in Sampang have said they would not take
part in the election rerun and have returned their ballot forms
to the local election committee.

Djakfar said his party could not be blamed for the
consequences if the new election was held today. "We won't be
able to control the people's anger," he said.

"Don't blame the people if they get emotional. You've got to
look into the root of the problem," he said.

Djakfar said the stand taken by the PPP Sampang branch was
supported by 70 Moslem leaders in the area and also by the
party's East Java chapter.

Military authorities in East Java have issued an order to
shoot on sight anyone trying to disrupt today's election rerun in
Sampang, Suara Pembaruan daily reported.

"There will be no compromise," East Java Military Chief Maj.
Gen. Imam Utomo said.

"I have ordered (my men) to shoot on sight any rioter or
anyone trying to disrupt the repeat election here," the general
was quoted by the afternoon daily as saying.

Imam was speaking in Sampang while observing the construction
of new polling stations to replace those destroyed in the three
days of violence.

He said the authorities would not risk any disturbance of the
repeat polling. Some 800 soldiers have been sent from Surabaya to
Sampang to oversee security in today's election, he said.

The PPP and Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) have alleged
that the May 29 general election was not as fair as people had
expected.

PPP officials have demanded that election in several regencies
in East Java, West Sumatra, South Sulawesi and several districts
in Jakarta be repeated.

So far, the government has rejected the demand. (nur/aan)