Unfrel has doubts about poll security
DEPOK, West Java (JP): Just three weeks ahead of the June 7 general election, a leading independent poll watch organization warned on Wednesday of various shortcomings, including a lack of security guarantees and continuing calls for a boycott in Aceh.
The University Network for Free and Fair Elections (Unfrel) revealed a report that members of proreferendum groups in Aceh were keeping up pressure on people to boycott the polls.
Officials have said that unsettled grievances over the 1989 to 1998 military operations and other military actions, in which soldiers were also killed, have led to growing calls for a referendum to determine whether the Acehnese want independence.
Unfrel quoted reports from its branches in Aceh, saying that out of 11 regencies, three regencies -- Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh -- were considered the most vulnerable to unrest.
At least 41 were killed in a recent military raid in North Aceh which the military said was conducted in self-defense against rebels. Children were among the fatalities.
In the three regencies, voter registration was reportedly less than 15 percent, he said.
An official at the National Elections Committee said on Thursday that less than 20 percent of the population in the three regencies had registered. The committee estimates that some 50 percent of Aceh's 2,315,224 million eligible voters have registered.
"Our biggest concern now is security," Todung said. "We still believe that polls can be run in Aceh. But what will happen next?"
About 900 poll watchers are stationed in Aceh, Todung said. The number of polling places across the country has yet to be revealed by the National Elections Committee.
Unfrel's 22 chapters have so far enlisted some 60,000 volunteers from its target of 150,000 poll watchers.
Representatives of the chapters were meeting in Depok, West Java, to map out areas to be monitored in the polls.
Todung, also deputy chairman of the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said indications of cheating showed that the estimation that most of 130 million eligible voters had registered was too high.
He cited reports of "mobilization" of voter registration by a certain party, and registration by one person on behalf of several residents in Badung, Bali, which is not allowed.
He added that the supervisory committee had sent a letter to the Provincial Elections Committee in Bali instructing it to repeat registration in Badung.
He said there were similar reports from other provinces.
Last week, the National Elections Committee estimated that about 75 percent eligible voters had registered.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), Bambang Widjojanto, blamed the political laws for money politics, saying there were too many loopholes. "The penalty is too small," he told Antara.
The law on political parties puts a Rp 15 million limit on annual contributions from individuals and Rp 150 million from corporate bodies. The maximum penalty for breaking the law is 30 days imprisonment and a Rp 100 million fine. The law does not stipulate a minimum penalty. (edt)