---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S UNAMET UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN EAST TIMOR Misi Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa Di Timor Timur Briefing Summary for Monday, 2 August 1999 UNAMET Spokesman David Wimhurst began today=92s briefing by providing voter registration figures as of Saturday, 31 July (16th day of registration). =93Now that UNAMET has been through the registration exercise=94, he said, = =93we can see very clearly that the eligible voters have registered in substantial numbers on a consistent basis. They have not been intimidated away from registering, and at the same time there has been some misinformation about the actual numbers of registered voters.=94 With three days away from the end of registration, 378,302 people have registered to vote (370,360 in East Timor). He added that he would be providing daily figures at his briefing from now to the end of the registration process. He also added that these figures are preliminary and there would be official figures announced at the end of the process. Continuing his briefing, Mr. Wimhurst said, all registration centres are open today. To deal with the numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) who are seeking to register, UNAMET has reinforced some of the centres with additional personnel in order to handle the increase in volume. Registration centres in Dili, Maliana and Oekussi have been reinforced.=20 Concerning the overall registration figure provided, a correspondent asked what percentage does that number represent of the total population expected to register. Mr. Wimhurst said, UNAMET was not in a position to give out that information, adding that UNAMET had estimated the number of eligible voters to be between 300,000 and 400,000. A correspondent asked whether there were any specific areas where people were not registering. The Spokesman said he could not give out a breakdown by region. He took the opportunity to encourage those East Timorese who have not yet registered to do so.=20 A correspondent asked the Spokesman if he felt the registration process has been successful thus far. He said, =93given the initial estimates, it has been a successful exercise. We are on target with the numbers. What is specifically encouraging is that the upward curve has now tapered off and is now dropping, which means that most people have registered.=94 A correspondent asked whether the Spokesman had numbers on how many IDPs had not been registered. Mr. Wimhurst said he was not able to provide figures on that, but the total number of IDPs was estimated to be between 40,000 and 60,000. He added UNAMET had an idea where IDPs were expected to turn up, it had reinforced certain centres. A correspondent asked how it would be possible to carry out the ballot in one day given the time it has taken to register people and the number of registration centres. Mr. Wimhurst said, there will be 700 polling stations compared to the 200 registration centres. He added that the registration centres will be divided into several polling stations to accommodate the large numbers expected to turn up on 30 August to vote. The Spokesman was asked whether UNAMET would be hiring additional staff for the ballot. He said, UNAMET was actively recruiting local staff to assist on voting day itself. There will be a substantial number of local staff who will be trained and will be working at polling stations. A correspondent asked when the campaign period began. The Spokesman said the provisional dates for the campaign period are from 11 to 27 August. The 28th and 29th will be a =93cooling off=94 period before the ballot on the 30= th. The Spokesman was asked when the registration period would end. Mr. Wimhurst said it will end on 4 August. On Thursday, he said, the Chief Electoral Officer will brief correspondents to give an overview of the entire registration process. A correspondent asked what constituted an invalid ballot. The Spokesman said before the vote itself UNAMET will publicize the ways in which one should indicate their choice on the ballot. He indicated that there will be symbols on the ballots indicating each choice for those who cannot read.=20 A correspondent asked what the symbols will be and if they will be made public. Mr. Wimhurst said the symbols are currently being finalized and will indicate an =93accept=94 and =93reject=94 choice. He said they would b= e publicized widely once there was official approval. The correspondent then asked if both parties provided input to the design of the ballot symbols. The Spokesman said each side has designed and approved its own symbol. UNAMET will then reproduce those on the ballot paper together with the question, which will appear in four languages. A correspondent asked whether the Spokesman had any comment on the shooting incident, which took place near UNAMET Dili regional headquarters yesterday. He said UNAMET was concerned over this incident in which a man was shot dead. UNAMET CivPol were on the scene with Indonesian police, assisting them in their investigation and in securing a statement from a witness. This morning, he added, UNAMET CivPol will be meeting with the Indonesian police to go over that statement and review the evidence and facts surrounding the incident. He said UNAMET CivPol have expressed to the Indonesian police earlier this week that perhaps some more effective policing is necessary to keep things calm in Dili. The correspondent asked whether UNAMET was the possible target of this incident or was it just a coincidence. The Spokesman said there was no clear indication as to the motives behind this event and UNAMET would not be speculating about that. Finally, a correspondent asked whether the Spokesman had any information concerning an incident that occurred on Saturday night involving UNAMET staff. He said he had information that a UNAMET vehicle with its occupants inside was damaged when stones were thrown at it on Saturday night. He said, UNAMET viewed this with concern and as a result of this incident, which took place on the coastal road, that road has now been declared an out-of-bounds area for UNAMET staff after sunset.=20 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 2 Aug 1999 jam 16:00:57 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
