Universities band together to form poll watchdog

JAKARTA (JP): Another poll monitoring network has been set up in Semarang to meet the vast need for volunteers for the elections slated for June.

Rectors of state and private universities across Central Java agreed Wednesday to set up an election monitoring network to help oversee the polls in the province.

The network is the second to be set up by universities after last month's announced establishment of the University Network for a Free and Fair Election (Unfrel). Announced at the University of Indonesia, this comprises higher learning institutions in several provinces.

Also on Wednesday, the network announced the creation of its Greater Jakarta branch on the campus of the University of Indonesia in Depok, south of here.

The country's first private monitoring group, the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), was set up to cover the 1997 polls.

The committee said in September it only had 9,000 volunteers and welcomed the set up of more monitoring groups.

It had said preparations for monitoring polls this year would be more complex given speculation as to whether the election would actually take place in view of the unstable political situation.

The appearance of these university networks followed the appeal of 159 rectors from all over Indonesia last November in Bandung. They called on academic communities to serve as independent observers of the upcoming polls.

However Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono, while supporting these efforts, called for the utmost caution in view of the heated political atmosphere, and stressed the need to remain independent.

"There are perceptions that monitoring bodies have vested interests in helping Golkar win," he added, referring to the dominant political grouping.

He said Wednesday at his office that personally he thought it would be better if rectors, in their individual capacities, joined existing poll monitoring bodies.

"Too many monitoring groups will only create confusion," he said after the installment of three rectors from the Medan Teachers' Training College, the University of North Sumatra and the Pattimura University in Ambon, Maluku.

Rector of the Gen. Sudirman University in Purwokerto, Rubiyanto Misman, who initiated the Central Java networking plan, said the forum would be announced on Jan. 13. The Semarang meeting was attended by 110 rectors.

"We hope this network can help to uphold democracy in the country," he told The Jakarta Post.

Separately 17 state and private universities set up the Greater Jakarta chapter of the University Network for a Free and Fair Election.

Volunteer training and training for trainers will be conducted as soon as possible.

Lecturer Ani Soetjipto, a member of the network's steering committee, said it was already working to monitor the ongoing deliberation of political bills at the House of Representatives.

Its coordinators include noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, also a founder of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee.

Todung said that universities and colleges have a prominent role in poll monitoring because they cover the archipelago much more comprehensively than other private bodies. (01/45/edt)