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.