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Election credibility questioned

Politics all hot air?: A large banner for the National People’s Concern Party (PPRN) is ripped apart by strong winds during a campaign rally at the Bung Karno soccer stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday

Alfian (The Jakarta Post)
JAKARTA
Thu, March 19, 2009

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Election credibility questioned

Politics all hot air?: A large banner for the National People’s Concern Party (PPRN) is ripped apart by strong winds during a campaign rally at the Bung Karno soccer stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday. JP/P.J. Leo

Claims of massive fraud in the recent East Java gubernatorial election have raised the issue of the credibility of the April polls, coming days after the resignation of the investigating police chief.

The findings of alleged voter list manipulation that saw thousands of ineligible voters listed as casting their ballots in the East Java election were announced Wednesday by the Indonesia Democratic Party (PDI-P), the second largest faction at the House of Representatives.

Besides the PDI-P, other parties have also raised fears of the "East Java scenario" — where the candidate jointly backed by the PDI-P, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, suffered a surprise loss — eclipsing the national polls. The violations led to the   Constitutional Court ordering revote and recount in three regencies, but no meaningful follow-up on the case was made by the National Police.

The candidate backed by the Democratic Party, Soekarwo, won the election.

On Tuesday, while on a flight on the campaign trail, Vice President and Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla lashed out in response to the news of the resignation of the provincial police chief investigating the East Java election, Insp. Gen. Herman Surjadi Sumawiredja.

Herman had cited intervention into his investigation. He had named the provincial polling body (KPUD) head Wahyudi Purnomo a suspect in the case, but the National Police named him a witness. Herman was transferred to Jakarta, but then resigned from the police corps.

Kalla said the case would raise distrust in the elections.

"If the election is tainted, democracy is under threat... if trust vanishes, so does democracy," he said.

PDI-P secretary-general Pramono Anung said the findings revealed changes in the registered voter lists, which among others turned out to include the multiplication of scores of voter identities sharing one name but with different addresses, birth dates or employee numbers.

National Police officers have cited insufficient evidence to continue the investigation.

The PDI-P claims voter fraud was found in the regencies of Magetan, Trenggalek and Ngawi, as well as in Pacitan, the hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“With this manipulation, one identity number can be used to vote hundreds or even thousands of times. We've recorded all of this data and we'll process it further. We can't let it happen, as it will destroy our democratic process,” Pramono said.

He added about 34,724 fraud cases were found in Trenggalek regency, 97,478 in Ngawi regency, and 40,883 in Magetan. All are found in the total of 261,673 registered voter lists, he added.

Asked who was the possible mastermind behind the manipulation, Pramono only said, “One thing's for sure: the opposition party does not have access to do this.”

Anas Urbaningrum, secretary-general of President Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, said the party had nothing to do with the fraud.

“We have committed from the beginning to support clean and honest elections. We want to win in a respectful way, and it’s not our party’s style to do such things,” he said.

He added the General Elections Commission (KPU) must clarify the PDI-P's findings immediately.

Pramono urged the KPU to promptly withdraw the fraudulent registered voter lists and investigate the alleged fraud.

“This finding must be processed further, especially after the alleged fraud in Bangkalan and Sampang,” he said, referring to the regencies at the heart of Khofifah's appeal to the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, former East Java Police chief Herman was seen at the residence of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

“I've been invited by the PDI-P because the party wants to hear my explanation of the case,” he said.

“I have no political motivation to be here. I just want the case to be reopened and resolved so the police can still be a trusted law enforcement institution.”

Legal expert Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto said the East Java issue did not so much concern the neutrality of the police force in the gubernatorial elections.

“If [the elections] continue as planned, there will be a lot of problems,” he told Media Indonesia daily, adding that National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri should explain what really took place in East Java.

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