Concern intensified Thursday over potential voter list fraud, which independent election supervisory committees fear could jeopardize the credibility of the upcoming general elections.
The Independent Election Supervisory Committee (KIPP) and the Indonesian Voters Committee (KPI) said they believed the alleged fraud involved high-level intervention in an attempt to reap political benefit from the elections.
However, Home Minister Mardiyanto denied any political machinations in the voter list fraud that could benefit certain sides.
"The fixed list of eligible voters doesn't fall within the government's authority," he said Thursday after a meeting with the General Elections Commission (KPU) at the KPU office.
"I am stressing there is no systemic attempt. The government's task and responsibility finished when it handed over the potential eligible voter list to the polling body on April 5, 2008."
The Home Ministry's Population Administration Affairs Directorate General submits a "potential voter list" to the KPU, in line with the 2007 election organization law.
The law states this list must then be validated and updated by the KPU and its regional offices nationwide.
Mardiyanto said the polling body should have validated the potential voter list and updated it to have a fixed list of eligible voters in time for the legislative elections.
However, as in past elections disputes, KPU officials said they were "only users" of the list.
The minister, however, conceded the government was responsible for the elections and would continue coordination efforts to minimize problems.
KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary admitted irregularities in the eligible voter list used during the recent gubernatorial race in East Java, and said he would revise the eligible voter list nationwide.
"The irregularities include someone casting votes at multiple polling stations, and many names with the same identity card numbers, as well as cases of underage voters," he said.
He added the KPU had received the eligible voter list used in the East Java gubernatorial election and had summoned Population Administration Affairs director general Abdul Rasyid Saleh to the KPU office Friday to explain the suspicious data.
He also said voter data would be revised if it was found to have been manipulated, while the KPU would ask all polling bodies to cross-check their lists with local administrations.
Vice President and Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla, along with Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chairman Prabowo Subianto have also expressed similar concerns and demanded the polling body recheck the voter lists.
Political parties and elections watchdogs began raising the alarm after news began to escalate of voter fraud in the East Java election.
It was further revealed that an investigation into polling irregularities during the recent election was allegedly hampered by intervention from the police leadership.
The investigation had found a list of 1.2 million voters, 345,000 (27 percent) of whom were ineligible or fictitious voters.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) found 34,724 fraud cases in the East Java regencies of Ngawi, Magetan and Trenggalek.
National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri declined to comment when asked about alleged intervention in the investigation of the fraud cases.
KIPP secretary-general Muchtar Sindong and Center for Electoral Reforms executive director Hadar N. Gumay said on separate occasions they were convinced there had been occurrences of voter fraud during the East Java vote in January.
Muchtar said only high-level officials in the government could have such ease of access to conduct such an operation.
"I think the East Java gubernatorial election fraud itself was a pilot project to test their ability, and they will bring this to full affect in the coming election," he warned.
Jerry Sumampauw of the KPI said the KPU must deal with at least two major problems: the late and flawed distribution of election material, and the possibility of voter list manipulation.
"The KPU should further explain to the government and to us why the problems remain unresolved," he said.
