Campaign kicks off with parade

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Campaign teams for all five presidential candidates are scheduled on Tuesday to deploy around 50 floats, including buses and trucks, during a parade to kick off the election campaign period that will last until July 1.

The vote will take place on July 5.

All the parade vehicles will depart from the National Monument (Monas) park and take Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman and will disperse at the Semanggi cloverleaf and head to separate areas.

Commuters are worried that the parade will cause traffic tie- ups because it will be held during peak hours -- 8:45 a.m to 2 p.m.

Prior to the parade, the five presidential candidates along with their running mates are expected to put their names on a plaque that reads: "Ready to Accept Victory or Defeat".

A General Election Commission (KPU) member, Hamid Awaluddin, said on Monday that the plaque was a symbol of all candidates' readiness to support efforts to create peaceful conditions before, during and after the election.

"It (the signing) will also send a message to the public... that the campaign will not turn into a forum where the candidates are given a chance to insult and denounce one another," Hamid said.

The plaque will be placed in Monas park.

Chairman of KPU Jakarta Muhamad Taufik said that all the candidates had expressed their readiness to take part in the campaigning.

"All the candidates, including President Megawati Soekarnoputri, will participate in the parade," he told The Jakarta Post.

The Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said the force have prepared 16,000 personnel to secure the campaign and the election day.

Makbul is optimistic that the campaign and the election would go on smoothly although there will be three major events in the capital in June: Qualifying matches for 2006 World Cup finals, the Jakarta Fair and the Asia-Pacific Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting.

Because of the parade, motorists are advised to seek alternative routes to avoid being trapped in traffic.

During the legislative election campaign in March, most of the political parties ended up deploying more vehicles than their limit of five, causing serious congestion in parts of the city.

Tuesday's parade participants will gather in Monas at 8 a.m. to listen to speeches, witness the plaque signing and listen to a prayer led by noted Muslim cleric Abdullah Gymnastiar before beginning the parade through town.