---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ++ Pemilu Online: http://www.indo-news.com/pemilu/ ++ ---------------------------------------------------------- Antara, 9 Juni 1999 EU Sees Indon Election Free and Transparent Jakarta, June 9 (ANTARA) - After observing the balloting process in many parts of Indonesia, the European Union concluded on Wednesday that the conduct of Indonesia's June 7 election was sufficiently free and transparent. The conclusion was announced by Heinrich Seemann, in his capacity as representative of EU ambassador in Indonesia, and Chief Observer/Executive Coordinator of the EU observer Unit John Gwyn Morgan, in a press conference at the Joint Media Operational Center here. Seemann, who is also German ambassador to Indonesia, also said that he would fully support and accept the final election result, regardless of the parties which will win the first multiparty polls in the post New Order era. Morgan said this election will guarantee a voting result which will reflect the democratic will of the Indonesian people. He admitted that EU observers reported several incidents of confrontations between various groups belonging to different parties, but they did not develop into major events that could seriously disrupt the campaign process. "The small incidents during the campaign days of political parties have no impact on the stages of the general election process in this country," he said. On the vote counting process, he said it has been conducted most satisfactorily. In this stage, the EU observation team visited 66 polling stations to observe the closing and counting of the ballots. "With regard to the transparency and publicity of the counting, these aspects have been very highly respected," he said. "The Electoral Monitoring Organisations and the political party agents were allowed to record the final voting results were publicly displayed." Morgan, however, noted that a lack of ballot papers caused the postponement of the election in the North Sumatran town of Sibolga, to June 9, 1999. In observing the June 7 polls, he said at least 30 long-term observers who had arrived in Jakarta on May 12 and had a four-day intensive training course, were deployed in 13 provinces. In addition, a group of some 90 short term observers arrived on May 29 to be deployed for some 15 days on and around polling day, except in the provinces of Aceh, Irian Jaya, East Timor, and West Kalimantan, for security reason. The European Union reportedly contributed US $7.7 million (7 million Euro) for the electoral process, channeled through the United development program (UNDP). On Indonesia's election process, the United States also hailed it saying that this it is the freest election in decades. "Congratulations go in the first instance to the people of Indonesia," State Department representative James Foley was quoted by AFP as saying in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. Foley said it was too early to assess the result. For the time being, Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party- Struggle (PDI-P) still leads the preliminary national ballot count as of 10:35 a.m. on Wednesday, by grabbing 5,610,175 votes, followed by the ruling Golkar Party with 3,199,100 votes. (T.NN-08/NN-03/14:14/INT-TA/ri3/15:25/TB05) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 12 Jun 1999 jam 11:56:27 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
