§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the Government played in monitoring the recent elections in Indonesia; and if he will make a statement. [89207]
§ Mr. HoonWe provided almost £2m in electoral assistance to Indonesia, making us the fourth largest national contributor overall and the largest European contributor. Bilateral projects included substantial support for the student-based election monitoring group UNFREL, which fielded over 100,000 domestic monitors; and financial support for an election media monitoring project, organised by the International NGO Article XIX.
This bilateral assistance was in addition to our contribution to the European Union's 7m euros electoral assistance package. We also nominated five British election observers who formed part of the European Community's election observer team.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the Government played in improving electoral administration in Indonesia. [89208]
351W
§ Mr. HoonAs part of the £2m bilateral electoral assistance package, referred to in my written answer to the hon. Member today (ref 89207), we provided funding for a pre-election programme of in-country workshops on cross-party lines for Indonesian political parties run by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, with the co-operation of hon. Members. This helped to develop a code of conduct for political parties as well as address issues of transparency, policy formulation and financial integrity. We also provided financial support for voter education programmes, including some aimed specifically at reaching women and first-time voters.