Vote tally goes at snail's pace

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As of 11:30 p.m. on Monday, with only about 130,000 votes counted nationwide, mostly from Jakarta and East Java, the current president's party was leading the last president's party by a slim margin, with an upstart newcomer making a huge splash after voting ended 1 p.m.

Ballot counting began at a snail's pace, in stark contrast to what the nation had been promised, and the election officials have over 140 million to go. Due to the minuscule percentage counted, the numbers are likely to change markedly, but they do perhaps show a very surprising trend with the former security minister's party.

Of the votes counted, the secular nationalist party of President Megawati Soekarnoputri had Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) had 18.41 percent, followed by the Muslim- based National Awakening Party (PKB) with 16.26 percent, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU)'s ballot counting center.

Despite the sluggish counting, the election was generally smooth across the archipelago.

The early returns also had surprising newcomer, the Democratic Party ahead of the once-mighty Golkar, Soeharto's electoral machine, which survived the 1998 political upheaval that saw the autocrat fall from grace.

The Democratic Party, co-founded by the former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (fired last month by Megawati), was close third with 13.44 percent, ahead of Golkar's 13.33 percent.

The fifth, sixth and seventh positions in the early count put the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) at 10.56 percent; the veterans from the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) at 6.87 percent and Amien Rais's National Mandate Party (PAN), at 5.56 percent.

In results from Jakarta late on Monday, still with under 1 percent of all votes counted, PDI-P was getting annihilated by Susilo's Democratic Party and the PKS. As the counting continues for the next few days, the positions could change.

KPU earlier claimed the majority of the counting from major cities would be known by 8 p.m. on Monday.

KPU member Chusnul Mar'iyah attributed the late counting on difficulties encountered by data entry personnel and the fact that not all districts had internet facilities.

Although the polls ran well for the most part, several areas, most notably in Papua province, had to be postponed due to a lack of ballot papers, boxes and other essentials.

The election will determine who will sit in the House of Representatives, the Provincial and Regental/Municipal Councils and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) -- a new national body similar to the U.S. Senate.

For the first time, the House will not be represented by active members of the Indonesian Military (TNI), which was given free seats in past elections. By law, military members are allowed to cast votes starting this year but TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto had made an appeal to his men and women to refrain from voting.

In Bali, voters cast their votes in over 9,000 voting stations in nine electoral regions.

Bali police spokeswoman Snr. Comm. Rosalia P Gaut said that no security-related incidents occurred.

"Everything went smoothly and as expected," she said on Monday evening.

The Democratic Party also gained strong ground in Denpasar, placing second the president's party in several tight head-to- head battles in PDI-P's heartland.

In several polling stations in Ampenan, on Lombok island in West Nusa Tenggara, several people said they had been paid Rp 20,000 (US$2.3) each to vote for "certain political parties".

At present, PDI-P, Golkar, PKS and the Democratic Party were the early leaders in the province.

Meanwhile, in Manado, North Sulawesi, several parties, including Golkar, PDI-P, the startling Christian-based newcomer Prosperous Peaceful Party (PDS) -- also eighth overall nationwide -- and the Democratic Party were involved in a race too close to call.

The Democratic Party and PKS reportedly secured significant votes in Palembang, South Sumatra, the hometown of Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the only three parties allowed for the three decades under Soeharto: PDI-P, Golkar and PPP, had taken the early lead.