"To every security personnel, I order you to not just play the role of a firefighter," the head of state said/Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo has called on all security personnel to be on alert during the upcoming simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada) to anticipate any conflict.
"To every security personnel, I order you to not just play the role of a firefighter," the head of state affirmed when opening a national coordinating meeting on the implementation of pilkada here, Thursday.
The president urged the personnel to take anticipatory measures in order to prevent conflicts.
"Do not let a small one become bigger. Do not let a small incident embarrass us. Regardless of how small the issue is, all local police resort chiefs, prosecutors, and military chiefs must be able to detect it as soon as possible before it escalates into a bigger crisis," Jokowi stated.
The pilkada 2015 is important as the people in 269 regions will, for the first time, be able to simultaneously and directly elect local regional heads.
This years pilkada will be held to elect nine governors and vice governors, 224 district heads and their deputies, and 36 mayors and their deputies.
The head of state expressed hope that the local elections would run smoothly and peacefully.
Also present during the opening ceremony of the coordinating meeting were Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister/State Secretary Pratikno, Coordinating Minister for Culture and Human Development Puan Maharani, and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Sutiyoso, among others.
Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo reiterated that the meeting was held to consolidate the pilkada this year to democratically elect regional and deputy regional heads.
On December 9, 2015, Indonesia will organize the first stage of pilkada, while the second stage will be held in 2017.
The government has planned to use an e-voting system in the pilkada in 2017 and in the legislative and presidential elections in 2019.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
