Jambi residents asked not to vote

JAMBI, Jambi: Banners calling for voters to abstain in the upcoming regional leadership election have been put up in the city center here.

Women's groups allegedly made similar calls after a female member of the Golkar Party and her running mate were refused as candidates for the June 26 gubernatorial election.

"I'm not responsible for the calls not to vote," Azizah Uteng, who had hoped to run for deputy governor, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

She said she did not support the calls, since "voting in the regional election is the right of every person".

Jambi Election Supervisory Committee head M. Thabrani asked the public to ignore the banners.

"The calls are made by a group of people who want to take advantage of the situation for their personal interests or those of a group, they do not represent women's interests," he said. -- JP