Indonesians go to polls

Press, 24 April 1987, Page 10

Indonesians go to polls

NZPA-Reuter Djakarta Large queues formed outside polling stations yesterday as Indonesia voted in the fourth Gen-, eral Elections since President Suharto rose to power 21 years ago. Before polling started, the Home Affairs Minister, Supardjo Rustam, admitted that, some of Indonesias 94 million voters had been sent two sets of ballot registration papers through administrative error, arid asked them not to vote twice.

Crowds thronged polling centres in central Jakarta, where canvas awnings were set up to protect voters from the tropical

More than 280,000 polling stations have been set up across Indonesia. The poll is for 400 seats in the 500-member national legislature and to elect both provincial and district level assemblies. The other 100 seats'in the national Parliament, known as the House of Representatives, go 'to military ‘ appointees. Mr Suharto’s ruling Golkar party is expected ,to get about 70 per cent, of the vote, compared, with 64 per cent in the last elections t in 1982. It based its campaign on continued sound economic development and political stability.