Jakarta – The votes obtained by Golkar skyrocketed leaving the United Development Party (PPP) trailing behind at the end of vote counting. In Jakarta, a region PPP expected to mark a victory, Golkar achieved almost one million votes.
This result is not believed by the PPP headquarters. Indications of fraud were encountered by one of the PPP leaders Tosari Wijaya, in a number of regions in Indonesia. The PPP Secretary General has requested a recount. Although certainly it is not possible to directly access the vote counting in the General Election Institution who's personnel are all made up of government people.
According to a PPP meeting, in a number of areas votes were not counted at poling stations but taken directly to the ward level [for counting]. In Sumenep, 1,119 ballot boxes were not counted at the stations. Similarly, with 3,715 ballot boxes in Central Sulawasi. Similar cases were found by PPP in West Sumatra and Pelembang.
Aside from this fraud PPP also found "vote buying". In Jakarta, according to PPP, government institutions gave between 60 and 100 thousand Rupiah and furthermore there were those given one months wages to choose Golkar. It is not clear from were these funds were obtained. It is possibe that the money for "vote buying" were taken from state funds.
Civil servants who voted twice were also found by PPP. Muhammad Buang, a PPP national office functionary caught a village secretary voting twice in the Kepulauan Riau regency. Fraud also occurred in Central Java in Batang and Demak. In Bandar Lampung, people have demanded a recount because of indications of manipulation.
According to Tosari Wijaya, PPP is in the middle of considering what legal steps to take through the Association of Indonesian Advocates and the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute.
According to SiaR's monitoring, the counting of votes on May 29 was certainly coloured by much fraudulence and pressure against voters. For example, the Bakrie Brothers holding company owned by the Bakrie family, which is near the palace directed all of its employees to choose Golkar. They were promised they would be given a bonus of one months wages and their wage would be increased if Golkar won 100% at Bakrie Brothers. However if there was a single voter who did not choose Golkar, the wage rises and promises would be canceled. In Kuningan, Bakrie was the first to vote. Before placing his ballot in the box, Bakrie waved his hands at the employees while holding up to fingers saying "We are deeply indebted with this".
Employees of the Bank Internasional Indonesia throughout Jakarta were also promised one months wages if they voted Golkar. Similarly companies owned by the palace's family [Suharto family] gave out money to their employees and workers to vote Golkar.
In Jakarta, civil servants and [employees] of state owned companies were given 40 thousand Rupiah transport money so they could vote Golkar in two places. Rumors that there was a "Dawn Operation (Operasi Fajar) as voting approached have become fact. In the regions of East Jakarta and Depok [South of Jakarta], local people were asked to vote Golkar in exchange for a voucher which could be exchanged for 30 kg of rice and a variety of other foods. At the Tanah Abang market members of Golkar youth also gave out 20 thousand Rupiah to street vendors, of course, while asking them to vote Golkar.
Coercion of this kind also occurred in Indonesian senior high schools [student in their last year of high school are eligible to vote - JB]. Teachers threaded students that if they wanted to pass their exams they must vote Golkar. Senior high school students in Jakarta told SiaR they were threatened by the teachers to get them to vote Golkar. In Jakarta, the Department of Education and Culture threatened heads of senior high schools to achieve a victory for Golkar in each of their schools. Senior high school students in Indonesia must vote at their schools in order to make it easier to control those who do not [wish] vote Golkar.
A private senior high school head in Jakarta told a SiaR source that at their school would be placed on a Department of Education and Culture black list if Golkar did not win 100% at their school. "Rather than have our schools accreditation dropped Golkar had to win at our school" he said.
[Unabridged translation by James Balowski]