Several people arrested for election fraud

Several people arrested for election fraud

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandarlampung

Several incidents of election fraud were uncovered during the
country's first ever direct presidential polls on Monday, with a
number of people arrested for allegedly voting more than once.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, police arrested at least eight
people for attempting to vote twice in the final round of the
presidential election.

The suspects were identified as Irham, Agus Karno, Ramang,
Tarkim, Adeul, Harson and Taufan -- all from Donggala in Central
Sulawesi -- as well as Henny, a resident of Makassar city who was
allegedly harboring seven, Antara reported.

Irham was nabbed while allegedly trying to cast a second vote
at polling station 06 in Mangku subdistrict, Wajo district,
Makassar.

A local Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) official
noticed that Irham's little finger had already been marked by
ink, indicating that he had already voted.

When confronted by the official, Irham confessed that he had
already voted at polling station 22 in the neighboring
subdistrict of Mamajang.

Irham was taken to the Wajo Police station for questioning. He
reportedly told police he had arrived in Makassar at about 3 a.m.
on Monday, along with six friends.

He told police the seven were to meet in Makassar a woman he
identified as Henny, who had promised them jobs. Irham told
police they were unable to find the woman, and instead went to
different polling stations during the day.

Irham was quoted by Antara as saying he voted at polling
station 22 and then went to polling station 06, where he expected
to meet his friends.

When he was unable to locate his friends, Irham told officer
he registered again to vote for a second time.

Police tracked down the six other suspects as they were eating
at a local food stall.

Officers also arrested Henny at her home and charged her with
mobilizing people to vote twice in the election. She denied the
charge.

Irham's six friends also denied voting twice. All eight
suspects are being detained for further questioning.

Also in Makassar, a member of Megawati Soekarnoputri's
campaign team, identified as Panji, was found acting as a polling
station head in Sudiang subdistrict, Biringkanaya district.

Panji was wearing a shirt with a picture of Megawati and her
running mate while on duty at the polling station, according to
local Panwaslu official Anwar Pallime.

In Lampung, a village community defense body chief in Kampung
Sawah subdistrict, Way Lunik district, Bandarlampung, was
arrested for voting five times on Monday.

The 50-year-old suspect, Kamaludin Lubis, admitted to voting
five times, but said he was voting as a representative for his
wife, children and other relatives.

Riko Firmansyah, a Panwaslu member in South Telukbetung, said
Lubis received five ballot papers from Way Lunik poll official
Suparmin, 39, who claimed the suspect forced him to give him the
papers.

Suparmin and other local poll officials could be charged with
election law violations for allowing Lubis to vote more than
once, Lampung Panwaslu member Firman Seponada said.

Meanwhile, the local Panwaslu in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta
province, said it had discovered letters bearing pictures of
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim Muzadi,
which were distributed to voters hours before going to the polls.

The letters read, "Mohon doa restu" (asking for prayers and
permission), and are being seen as an attempt by the Megawati
camp to sway voters.

Panwaslu officials also discovered a possible election
violation as supporters of candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
running mate Jusuf Kalla distributed 600 T-shirts in Yogyakarta
city.

About 400 of the T-shirts were seized by the Panwaslu, while
the remaining 200 were distributed to residents, local Panwaslu
official Agus Triyatno said.

"We have identified the perpetrators but we will withhold
their names to smooth the way for the investigation," he said.

Agus said his office had also uncovered a smear campaign
against Susilo in Yogyakarta, where leaflets were distributed on
public buses encouraging residents not to vote for him.

"We have reported this case to the police for investigation,"
Agus added.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, police arrested two people,
identified as Den and Pat, for distributing cards bearing the
pictures of Susilo and Kalla at a number of polling stations in
Tanjungpura district.

The suspects reportedly told the police they were ordered to
distribute the cards by Susilo's campaign team in South Pontianak
regency.