2007年VOA标准英语-Jakarta Votes for Governor for First Time
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By Trish AndertonJakarta
08 August 2007
Polls have closed in a historic election today in Jakarta, in which voters were able to choose their own governor for the first time. But analysts1 predicted only a third of eligible2 voters might show up, due to a flawed registration3 process and dissatisfaction with the nominees4. Trish Anderton reports from Jakarta.
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| Jakartans cheer for Fauzi Bowo on a Central Jakarta soccer field |
Saiful Mujani heads the Indonesian Survey Institute, a polling group. He says that as part of the current government, Fauzi Bowo is handicapped, because the administration is perceived as failing on important issues like traffic, unemployment and flooding.
Some voters are also wary5 of Adang because his party, the Justice and Prosperity Party, is identified with conservative Islam. The party insists it will not push for sharia law in Jakarta, but University of Indonesia economist6 Faisal Basri says many voters remain uneasy.
"The majority of Indonesia does not want sharia law," he said. "What we want is the law for all people of Indonesia.
| Members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) show their support for Adang Daradjutan in one of many mobile rallies |
"It is very bad for democracy because there will be no kind of fresh room for good people to run, and more and more concentration in political parties because of the role of money," he said.
Indonesia's Constitutional Court recently ruled that independent candidates must be allowed to run in local elections, but the ruling came too late for this race.
More than 11,000 polling stations were open across Jakarta for six hours until early afternoon. The city declared a public holiday to make it easier for about 5.7 million registered voters to get to the polls.
