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Letters of Commission to the Japanese Government Election Observation Mission for the General Elections in Indonesia

March 31, 2004

1. On March 31 (Wed), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued letters of commission, in the name of the Foreign Minister, for ten out of the 16 members of the Japanese Government Election Observation Mission for the general elections in Indonesia, which are to be held on April 5 (Mon). The letters were delivered by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masatoshi Abe to Mr. Takao Kawakami (former Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia), Advisor to the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who heads the mission, and nine observers who were selected through public recruiting.
   
   
2. The upcoming general elections, the first to be held since the revision of the constitution in 2002, will elect all members of the People's House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council and regional people's house of representatives. These elections have great significance in the sense that they will solidify the basis for the process of democratization after President Suharto's resignation in 1998. The Japanese Government Election Observation Mission will be dispatched for one week starting from April 1 (Thu) to various places in Indonesia to make sure the general elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.
   
   
3. Apart from the dispatch of this mission, the Government of Japan has provided a total of 22.5 million dollars of grant aid to support the general elections in Indonesia, including the costs of procuring ballot boxes and booths, and for NGO activities to publicize the elections to voters. As for technical assistances, the Government of Japan also dispatched 17 people including JICA experts to provide guidances and advices on elections to the central and local election committees.
   
   
4. Following the general elections, a presidential election will be held in July, in which the people of Indonesia will directly elect their president for the first time in their history, and Japan will also extend assistances for it.

Related Information (Japan-Indonesia Relations)