Voters still waiting for registration forms

Voters still waiting for registration forms

JAKARTA (JP): Slow delivery of voter registration forms
continue to set back the registration process, reported Director
General of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy Ryass
Rasyid at a meeting of provincial elections committees on
Wednesday.

"Some packages, when opened, only contain a few dozen forms
when they should contain hundreds," Syahrir, the chairman of the
West Java committee, said.

Areas in Sulawesi also reported similar slowness. The General
Elections Commission (KPU) has extended the voter registration
period to May 15, citing a range of difficulties, including
security disturbances.

Chairman of the Aceh provincial committee Farhan Hamid, said
up to Tuesday 48.41 percent of the total 2,315,244 eligible
voters in Aceh had registered.

In areas hit by military action 18.07 percent were registered
in North Aceh, 12.22 percent in Pidie and 46.75 percent in East
Aceh.

"East Aceh has a higher percentage because it is located near
the border of Medan, so they are not too affected by unrest or
other pressure," Farhan said.

Antara reported from Irian Jaya that as of Wednesday regency
election committees in Paniani and Puncak Jaya were yet to submit
lists of eligible voters.

The news agency quoted officials at the provincial elections
committee in Jayapura as blaming the lack of transportation and
communications devices for the tardy registration process.

Paniani has set up 98 subdistrict polling committees which
have listed 47,570 people qualified to vote, while Puncak Jaya
has formed 102 subdistrict polling committees, with 32,831 people
eligible to vote.

Jayawijaya is another regency which performed poorly, with
only 11.73 percent of 257,292 eligible voters registered with
subdistrict polling committees across the town.

Biak Numfor regency fared the best, registering 75.26 percent
of 60,678 eligible voters.

Altogether, less than 50 percent of 1,229,223 eligible voters
have signed up for the polls in Irian Jaya.

In a related development, KPU chairman Rudini said on
Wednesday tens of thousands of refugees would only be able to
vote for legislators at the national level.

Refugees have fled home towns in Maluku province and West
Kalimantan, where hundreds have been killed in ethnic and
religious clashes.

"This is because they are not located in their own provinces,"
he said.

On Wednesday, the commission also decided that the
registration period in Maluku would be extended to May 21, given
the conditions there.

Maluku committee chairman Lutfi Sanaky told Antara in Ambon
that only 48.2 percent of 1.2 million eligible voters had
registered.

Campaign schedules for West, Central and East Java and Bali
have yet to be arranged.

"In Central Java, the campaign schedule will be set by the
regional elections committee, as they are the ones who know the
areas and areas prone to unrest," chairman of Central Java's
committee Hadi Pranoto said.

Hadi cited several regencies which had set campaign schedules,
such as Rembang, Jepara, Tegal, Cilacap, Kebumuen, Wonogiri and
Karang Anyar.

Campaigning will be taken in turn by the 48 parties and
security forces are taking extra measures to prevent clashes, he
said.

An executive of the Bali elections committee, HS Abdul Wahab,
expressed confidence campaigns in Bali would be safe. (edt/amd)