INDONESIA READIES FOR APRIL 9 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000647

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP; NSC FOR E.PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA READIES FOR APRIL 9 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

REF: JAKARTA 00621 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Election workers are setting up polling
stations across the nation as Indonesians gear up to vote in
the April 9 national legislative elections. The national
Election Commission (KPU)--which faces the daunting task of
administering this huge enterprise in the world's third
largest democracy--says it is ready for the task at hand.
That said, there could be some snarls. U.S. government
assistance has supported the electoral process; in the
meantime, Mission teams are fanning out to observe the
process. END SUMMARY.

INDONESIA READIES FOR ELECTIONS


2. (SBU) Indonesia is preparing for parliamentary elections
on April 9. The whole electoral process is exceedingly
complicated in this, the world's third largest democracy.
Using four ballots with more than six hundred candidate
choices, voters face the daunting task of deciding who will
represent them in the national and regional legislatures (DPR
and DPD) and in provincial and local councils (DPRD). The
GOI is putting up over a half million polling stations in
Indonesia and 873 abroad to accommodate the expected 171
million voters. Polling stations are open from 7:00 AM until
12:00 PM. "Quick" counts will emerge giving initial findings
re the results. Official results will only be available in
May. National elections were last held in 2004.


3. (U) President Yudhoyono met with his Cabinet on April 7
and declared that the nation was "ready" for the elections.
Security forces have been in position for some time. Thus
far, the campaign period has been largely peaceful with some
limited instances of violence taking place in the Aceh region
of Sumatra.

POTENTIAL SNARLS?


4. (SBU) Ahead of election day, there are some concerns
about the process. Some observers worry that not all
eligible voters will be able to vote due to problems with the
voter registration lists and registration process. Among
other reasons, voter lists have been a cause for concern due
to allegations of fraud (see reftels). Some names in the
recent East Java gubernatorial race were found to be
fictitious, for example. The KPU has asked its local
branches to review all voter lists.


5. (SBU) One of the main logistical obstacles is processing
all the voters during the five-hour voting period.
According to an International Foundation for Elections (IFES)
study the majority of Indonesia's voters still do not
understand how to vote or how new regulations affect them.
In voting simulations run by IFES and UNDP, voters who knew
what they were doing took about five minutes to cast their
vote (vs. three minutes in 2004). Some districts might not
have enough ballots, particularly those with high turnout.


6. (C) Courts are reportedly preparing for legal challenges
to the election results. Major parties such as Golkar and
Indonesian Party of Democratic Struggle (PDI-P) have declared
that they will reject the results if they find anything amiss
in either the counting or voters' lists. President
Yudhoyono's Partai Demokrat (PD) is expected to do well
across large parts of the country and other parties are
clearly threatening to call foul if PD does well.

USG SUPPORT FOR PROCESS


7. (SBU) The U.S. government has provided $8 million in
assistance to strengthen the democratic electoral process in
Indonesia. USAID has implemented political party
strengthening and reform programs; targeted election
management assistance; and training on peaceful political
competition. Through USAID partners--the National Democratic
Institute (NDI),the International Republican Institute (IRI)
and the International Foundation for Elections (IFES)--the
USG has helped train women candidates and provided technical
assistance to the KPU on developing educational programs,
vote counting and reporting procedures, and training on
strengthening the voter registry.


8. (SBU) Mission teams plus these USG-funded NGOs and the
USG-funded Carter Center effort in Aceh will also be
supporting Indonesia's democratic process by observing the
election from sites across the country on election day.

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