Jakarta – Dozens of Indonesian students Wednesday picketed the headquarters of the newly-formed General Election Commission and declared they would boycott the June 7 general elections, the first since the fall of Suharto. A small contingent of police stood by as the 50 students, grouped under the Joint Forum, yelled and shouted abuse at the military and demanded an end to the role of the armed forces in politics, which they blamed for the country's present shortcomings.

They said their no-vote decision was taken partly because of the ethnic and sectarian violence plaguing the country but mainly because they felt the polls would only preserve the status quo.

They accused members of the election commission of seeking to enrich themselves and said the armed forces were reluctant to halt the communal violence because they were unwilling to abandon their much-criticized political role.

Each of the commission's 53 members is entitled to a car and newspaper reports have said they have demanded a monthly salary of 10 million rupiah (around 1,200 dollars).

Suharto's handpicked successor President B.J. Habibie has pledged that the elections, to be contested by 48 parties, will be free and fair.

Students, who were in the forefront of the struggle to topple Suharto, have become divided on the issue of the elections. Some favor a boycott and others have committed themselves to making the polls a success.

Registration opened countrywide Monday for some 125 million voters eligible to elect a new house of representatives.