VZCZCXRO8158
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0074/01 3201021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161021Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0108
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0045
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0098
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0015
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0110
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0018
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0043

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000074 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, INR/EAP, DRL/PHD, INL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL KCOR ID
SUBJECT: SOUTH SULAWESI: ELECTION RESULTS ARE IN, THE LOSERS SUE, 
CLASHES STAY SMALL 
 
REF: SURABAYA 72; SURABAYA 57 
 
SURABAYA 00000074  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  The November 16 official announcement of 
election results failed to dampen controversy surrounding who 
won the race for South Sulawesi Governor.  Now abandoned by 
national Golkar Party leadership, defeated incumbent Amin Syam 
and Vice Governor candidate Mansur Ramly have announced 
intentions to file suit in Indonesia's Supreme Court.  The 
Provincial Election Commission has given all losing candidates a 
deadline of November 19 to file suit over alleged 
irregularities.  Tensions have escalated since announcement of 
the razor thin (0.76 percent) margin of victory.  Minor 
altercations between campaign supporters over the past 11 days 
have been kept under control by police.  Signs point toward a 
long court battle rather than a battle on the streets.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On November 16, the Provincial Election Commission (KPU) 
formally announced that challenger Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Agus 
Arifin Nu'man had been elected Governor and Vice Governor, 
respectively, of South Sulawesi.  When making the announcement, 
the KPU stated that the losing candidates would have three days, 
until November 19, to file law suits challenging the results to 
the Supreme Court.  Representatives of defeated incumbent Amin 
Syam and third-place challenger Abdul Aziz Qahhar Mudzakkar 
refused to sign the final vote tallies on November 15, claiming 
their complaints about election irregularities had not been 
investigated by KPU. (Surabaya 72) 
 
Incumbent Blind Sided by the People and His Party -- Golkar 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In public comments, defeated incumbent Amin Syam was 
unbowed; "I don't want to lose to cheaters."  He insisted that 
there were serious irregularities during the election that went 
uninvestigated by the KPU and urged the South Sulawesi Elections 
Commission to postpone official announcement of the results. 
Amin Syam also criticized the national Golkar leadership for 
"carelessness" in issuing a statement accepting defeat in South 
Sulawesi without consulting him.  Vice President and National 
Golkar Party Chairman Jusuf Kalla accepted Syahrul's victory, 
calling it an "all Golkar final" and glossing over his very 
public support for the losing candidates (Surabaya 57).  Now 
abandoned by his party, Syam clings to the hope that the Supreme 
Court will see things his way.   Local media commentators 
wondered aloud how Kalla could still harbor ambitions for 
President when he appeared tone deaf to politics in his home 
province. 
 
Scattered Altercations But Nothing Widespread 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Some 100 supporters of Amin Syam rioted at the offices 
of the Election Monitoring Committee (Panwaslu), on November 15, 
according to local media reports.  The building also houses the 
Indonesian Journalist Association (PWI).  The mob broke windows 
and some hit passing cars with sticks and their fists.  Police 
arrested three men believed to be the provocateurs of the 
incident.  Also on November 15, some hundreds of supporters of 
the incumbent demonstrated outside a Makassar country club where 
final confirmation of the votes was taking place under the eyes 
of representatives from the candidates.  Some of the 
demonstrators held signs criticizing corruption and calling for 
new elections in three districts: Gowa, Takalar, and Tana 
Toraja, according to media reports.  An NGO representative in 
Makassar familiar with the election told us that he feared more 
violence.  Police have been successful to date in preventing 
clashes between groups of supporters. 
 
What We Saw on Election Day 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On election day November 5, Pol/Econ officer, Pol/Econ 
Assistant and Political Officers from Embassy Jakarta visited 
two polling stations (TPU) in Makassar, guided by the local head 
of the KPU Mr. Mappinawang.  The arrangements and atmosphere at 
both places suggested a well-organized effort.  We left the KPU 
offices, guarded by twenty-odd Provincial Police armed with 
rubber bullets and teargas grenade launchers, to visit TPU in 
 
SURABAYA 00000074  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
two parts of Makassar.  Each TPU is responsible for collecting 
votes from roughly five to eight hundred voters.  In the 20 
minutes we spent at one polling place just before noon, only 
three or four voters cast ballots.  KPU workers explained that 
nearly all people on the station's register had voted soon after 
the polls opened.  Scattered protests regarding voter 
registration did not become widespread on Election Day according 
to our observation, KPU officials and media reports. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The challenges facing voter education were clear 
during our visit.  Near one polling station in a Makassar 
suburb, a man who lives next door to a polling station spoke 
with us outside his home.  He said he had been refused his right 
to vote and showed us his voter registration card from the 2004 
presidential election.  He didn't understand why it was now 
invalid.  KPU Head Mappinawang had earlier told us that basic 
ignorance of the process was the real cause of protests during 
the election.  Rumors of a mid-election change in law in which 
the national identity card (KTP) would be accepted at polling 
stations only accelerated the flow of puzzled and ineligible 
voters to polling places.  Leaders at one mosque had told people 
assembled for prayers that regulations would be changed on 
Election Day, according to Mappinawang, who was unclear 
regarding the specifics of the rumor. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) KPU efforts to educate voters were evident around the 
city on Election Day.  While driving between polling places we 
saw banners near two intersections explaining the need to 
reregister for the current election.  Mappinawang told us that 
radio and television reminders regarding the need to register 
were frequent in the run-up to Election Day.  The KPU Head also 
lamented the poor accuracy of 2004 voter data provided by the 
Province's Population Office and said the outdated rolls were 
causing considerable confusion.  He hoped that the 2009 election 
will use new data and that its collection will be in the hands 
of the KPU rather than local officials 
 
Press Coverage of Our Visit 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Our visit to Makassar polling stations was reported on 
election night on TVRI South Sulawesi, and several local 
newspapers the following day.  National coverage of our visit 
appeared in Tempo magazine's online service TempoInteraktif, and 
the GOI's official news service, Antara.  Many Makassar 
residents expressed curiosity about any US official interest in 
helping one or another candidate get elected.  In an effort to 
avoid the appearance of interference in the process, we avoided 
visiting a polling station near the Governor's residence. 
MCCLELLAND