Friday March 6, 2009

Indonesia elections: will voters, papers, be ready in time?

By Olivia Rondonuwu and Sara Webb

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The ballot papers aren't ready. Political parties have yet to submit their donor lists. Electoral rolls are still being revised. And the risk of spoiled ballots seems high as Indonesia heads for elections.

Workers fold ballot papers in Lamongan in Indonesia's East Java province March 4, 2009. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas/Files)

Yet Abdul Hafiz Anshary, head of Indonesia's General Election Commission, appears unflustered, even though the countdown calendar behind his desk shows just 34 days left until April 9, when voters pick their parliamentary representatives from various reformist, Islamist and Suharto-era parties.

"We are certain we will meet the schedule," said Anshary, who is overseeing elections in Southeast Asia's biggest democracy.

The outcome will determine which parties field candidates for the presidential election on July 8, and in turn, the extent to which Southeast Asia's biggest economy pushes ahead with further reform -- crucial to attracting much-needed investment.

For now, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrat Party is ahead of Golkar Party, once the party of autocratic former president Suharto, and PDI-P, led by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri. For the latest polls, see [ID:nIDPOLLS]

Elections have always been driven by big money and this year won't be any different, Anshary told Reuters in an interview.

"Spending will be huge," said Anshary, a 52-year-old professor of Islamic history.

Political parties typically splash out on "goodies" ranging from tee-shirts to cash. Party funding is opaque, but widely believed to be driven by some extremely wealthy tycoons.

Individuals can donate up to 1 billion rupiah ($83,360), and companies can contribute five times that amount: those donations must be submitted for audit two weeks after the election.

With the economy expected to grow 4 percent this year, the slowest pace in 8 years and well below the 6 percent needed to create enough jobs for a growing labour pool, election spending is likely to give a lift to faltering domestic demand.

WIDESPREAD CONFUSION

Practice runs show widespread confusion over how to mark the ballots -- whether with a tick or a punched hole -- posing a potential "hanging chad" issue in which many ballots might be declared spoiled.

Anshary said up to one fifth of votes might not be cast or may be declared invalid as a result of confusion over how to mark them, a significant portion given that a party needs to win 20 percent of the votes or one quarter of the seats in order to field a presidential candidate.

So far only about 65 percent of the 700 million ballot papers for national, provincial, and district elections have been printed, measuring 84 cm by 54 cm (33 by 21 inches), or the size of a fold-out street map, and some even running to two huge pages to accommodate 38 or more different parties.

"If a voter waits until he's inside the booth before making up his mind, he could be there for an hour," said Anshary.

Kevin Evans, a political analyst and election observer from Pemilu Asia, which collects data on elections, said it was normal for the Indonesian authorities to miss their ballot paper printing deadlines.

"I think this one looks a little slower than last election but it's not the end of the world. The show will go on," he said.

"A much greater concern to me is that none of the politicians are saying what they will do if they get in power."

(Additional reporting by Sunanda Creagh)

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