Unfrel has doubts about poll security
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)