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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
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P 140914Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
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INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0222
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 3285
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1212
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 013481 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL EAID KDEM KPAO ID
SUBJECT: U.S. OBSERVATION TEAM FOR ACEH ELECTIONS:  WHAT WE 
SAW 
 
REF: JAKARTA 13462 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  A comprehensive post-election analysis of 
questionnaires returned by members of the official U.S. 
election observation team confirm our initial report (reftel) 
that the gubernatorial and district administrative elections 
in the Indonesian province of Aceh on December 11 were free 
and fair.  Observing over 100 polling stations across 13 
districts, our delegation reported an election that was 
largely in compliance with accepted standards and free from 
attempts by authorities to intimidate or coerce voters on 
election day.  Turnout at sites observed was generally high, 
ranging between 65 and 90 percent of registered voters. 
While a number of procedural problems were observed during 
the voting, these were not, in our opinion, sufficiently 
widespread or significant to cast doubt on the validity of 
the election results.  Other monitoring groups have reported 
incidents which we did not see, but by and large our sampling 
of the process appears to have been representative of the 
overall conduct of the elections as a whole.  Embassy is 
sharing these findings with the Aceh Election Commission 
(KIP).  End Summary 
 
¶2. (U) The Mission deployed a group of 40 USG employees in 
two-person teams to serve as election monitors during the 
December 11 provincial elections in Aceh.  The team observed 
voting at over 100 polling stations in the capital of Banda 
Aceh and scattered across 13 provincial districts.  They also 
witnessed the counting of votes at 22 sites.  All team 
members possessed an official accreditation badge issued by 
the provincial election authority (KIP), which was required 
of all observers, and none of the team reported any 
difficulties in gaining access to polling stations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) These reports confirm our initial assessment that 
the election was free and fair.  Observers reported a high 
turnout among voters and an acceptable level of compliance 
with procedural regulations on the part of election 
officials.  Significantly, our observers did not report a 
single incidence of an attempt to influence how votes were 
cast and found no major security incidents.  (Note: Local 
media did report problems in several locations on election 
day, and in the two days prior to elections, some team 
members did receive reports of large numbers of voters being 
left off the voter registration lists and/or not receiving 
voter cards.)  On election day itself we saw very few 
incidents in which would-be voters were denied the right to 
vote.  Observers in one location described a disgruntled 
group of people causing a commotion after being told they 
were not on the registration list, but in the end local 
officials agreed to allow the group to vote in technical 
violation of the regulations.  In many locations 
locally-produced invitation letters were accepted in lieu of 
voter registration cards, and at a number of sites voter 
registration lists were simply not used.  While this could 
have been an oversight in some instances, it may also have 
been a deliberate method of reducing the possibility of 
potentially eligible voters being turned away. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Most of the polling sites observed were found to be 
generally in compliance with the procedures established the 
provincial election commission (KIP).  Most polling places 
were set up according to a standard format, and were kept 
free of campaign materials.  Security was present but not 
intrusive, and ballots were kept under a tight watch by both 
election officials and witnesses representing various 
candidates.  Violations of procedures centered largely on the 
decisions not to use voter lists or to require voters to 
present their voter cards prior to voting, which were most 
likely practical responses to the inadequacies of the 
registration process.  The other common procedural violation 
was a widespread failure on the part of the security to check 
voters' fingers for ink prior to allowing them in to vote. 
Less common but potentially more serious, voting booths 
lacked total privacy at 10 sites, and at four locations the 
number of registered voters was greater than the number of 
ballots available. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The U.S. team observed the counting of ballots in 22 
locations.  Once again, observers reported the process to be 
transparent and fair, with ballot boxes being opened and 
ballots being read in full view of witnesses representing 
multiple candidates.  Some minor procedural violations were 
observed, notably the failure of election officials in some 
locations to reconcile the number of ballots prior to 
 
JAKARTA 00013481  002 OF 002 
 
 
counting the votes.  At all sites where counting was 
observed, turnout was at least 65 percent and often as high 
as 90 percent of registered voters.  One of the monitoring 
teams visited a "recapitulation center" to which ballot boxes 
were transported for collection and verification after 
counting had been completed at individual stations.  That 
team observed significant procedural irregularities at the 
center and a general lack of supervision on the part of 
recapitulation center officials.  Most observers did not 
visit recapitulation centers due to a Mission decision that 
all personnel should return to their hotels by nightfall for 
security reasons. 
PASCOE