The police will deploy some 65 thousand personnel, including 20 thousand police personnel and 15 thousand military and civil defence personnel, to assure security in the city and smooth implementation of the election.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - More than seven million eligible voters in Jakarta will come to polling stations on Wednesday (April 19) to choose their governor for the next five-year period from 2017 to 2022.
Incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and vice governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat will compete against former education minister Anis Baswedan and businessman Sandiaga Uno as his running mate in the runoff election.
The two have to compete in a runoff after none of them won the majority votes in the first round that saw Agus Harimurti, who is the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and his running mate Sylviana Murni collect the least votes and drop out of the race.
Security in the capital city has been beefed up following reports about planned "Tamasya Al-Maidah" (Al-Maidah Tour), in which people from outside the city will be mobilized to "monitor" the implementation of the election at more than 13 thousand polling stations to be set up across the city.
The organizer claims that around 1.3 million people will be involved in the activity, which is named so likely to remind people of the blasphemy case involving Purnama, who is currently facing the court.
The case has been controversial, with some believing it is a mere criminalization, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Muslims taking to the streets several times in the capital to protest against the act.
Basuki, who is a Chinese Christian, has been known for his sharp tongue while speaking to the people and a staunch fighter against corruption.
The police will deploy some 65 thousand personnel, including 20 thousand police personnel and 15 thousand military and civil defence personnel, to assure security in the city and smooth implementation of the election.
The Jakarta Police have also issued a circular prohibiting mass mobilization on the day of the election.
The statement was signed by Jakarta Police chief Inspector General Mochamad Iriawan, Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) head Sumarno, and Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Panwaslu) head Mimah Susanti on Monday.
Should any group of people from outside Jakarta attempt to engage in such activity, the National Police, the Army, and all relevant institutions will take preventive measures by searching for the group and asking them to return to their hometown.
Those who fail to comply with the instructions will be subjected to sanctions in accordance with legal procedures, the statement said.
"The ban is not only applied for Tamasya Al-Maidah but all parties and supporters of both candidates," Indonesia Police chief General Tito Karnavian stated.
President Joko Widodo called on the people who are eligible to vote on Monday to exercise their rights without fear, saying that security authorities would assure safety and smooth implementation of the election.
The president made the statement after meeting TNI commander General Gatot Nurmantyo, Karnavian, and the chief of the State Intelligence Agency General Budi Gunawan at the Merdeka State Palace.
"People must be able to use their rights without any disruption or intimidation from any party," he noted.
He believed that the election would produce the best leader for Jakarta.
"I believe, God willing, the democratic process in Jakarta will be smooth, clean, orderly, and produce a leader who is really the pick and choice of the people of Jakarta," he remarked.
Widodo said that he would also exercise his right by casting a ballot in Polling Station (TPS) 4 in Gambir like how he had done during the first round.
"Yes, (I will vote) later on Wednesday at the same TPS (where I cast the vote before)," he stated.
Widodo on Monday also met Islamic clerics to seek their support to assure peaceful implementation of the election.
"He asked the ulemas to help create a conducive situation to avoid issues that would divide the nation," the general chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, Maruf Amin, stated after the meeting at the State Palace.
Maruf met the president who was in the company of Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin; Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Wiranto; the Head of Presidential Staff Teten Masduki; and a number of ulemas and Muslim figures such as the former constitutional court justices Mahfud MD, Jimly Asshiddiqie, and Hamdan Zoelva; preachers Arifin Ilham and Yusuf Mansyur; and the chairman of Muhammadiyah youth organization Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak.
"The ulemas agreed to support the policies that have been set by the president to assure that no party would mobilize the mass during the election, which would create instability in Jakarta and create a negative impact at the national level," he noted.
"We are responding to the possibility of mass mobilization from any party, not only from one but both parties, as it could create problems in case of conflicts. We do not want to see such a situation," he remarked.
Leaders from a number of different religious mass organizations gathered in Jakarta recently calling on the people to assure peaceful election.
"We appeal to the people in Jakarta to maintain order and security before and after the election and their unity as well as cohesiveness in the midst of our diversities," the general chairman of the countrys biggest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama, KH Said Aqil Siradj, remarked after the meeting.
"We have no political interests," he added.
The leaders attending the meeting came from Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesia Bishops Conference, the Indonesia Communion of Churches, Niciren Syosu Indonesia, the Indonesia Hindu Parisad, the Supreme Council of Khonghucu, and the Institute of Islamic Mass Organization Society.
The government has declared Wednesday as a holiday, providing people ample time to participate in the election. The race is expected to be tight.(*)
Reporter: Yoseph Hariyadi
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
