Joint forces ready to secure first day of elections

Joint forces ready to secure first day of elections

P.C. Naommy and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Sunday that the
police had finished deploying their forces to secure the general
elections, including the safeguarding of the voting process, in
which about 147 million voters will cast their ballots at about
557,600 polling stations throughout the archipelago.

In the meantime, Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD)
head M. Taufik disclosed that police had decided to double the
number of officers securing each polling station in the city from
two to four.

"The officers have already been to the polling stations and
are ready to secure the general elections," Da'i told General
Elections Commission (KPU) members during a visit to the KPU
headquarters.

KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin received the police chief
upon his visit.

Taufik said police had doubled the number of polling station
personnel in anticipation of demonstrations by unregistered
voters or registered ones who had not received their voter's
cards and could not, therefore, exercise their constitutional
right.

Da'i issued the statement a day after receiving reports from
30 provincial police chiefs during a teleconference on Saturday.
The session was also attended by Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs ad interim Hari Sabarno, and
several other high-ranking officials.

National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko D.A. said
that security arrangements remained as planned beforehand,
including backup from security units from forces under
operational command (BKO). The command includes Indonesian
Military (TNI) personnel.

There are at least 5,518 BKO personnel in strife-torn Nanggroe
Aceh Darusalam and 1,002 in Maluku province.

In Central Sulawesi, especially Poso, the police headquarters
has deployed around 100 Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police in
addition to the existing 800 BKO personnel.

"All the BKO units are under the coordination of the
respective provincial police headquarters to maintain security in
the provinces," said Soenarko.

The additional deployment in Poso came after a series of
shooting incidents that resulted in the death of a clergyman and
serious injury to an academic. The situation is already calm now.

Soenarko said that the police headquarters had also deployed
its Brimob forces to several police stations in West Java,
Jakarta and Banten provinces.

According to Soenarko, backup from the police headquarters was
needed to fill the gaps in the regular provincial police forces
caused by deployments of personnel to critical points and polling
stations.

The police headquarters has sent 1,000 Brimob personnel to
Jakarta, 900 to West Java and 300 to Banten.

Soenarko stated that a specific approach had been adopted in
order to ensure security at polling stations.

Four polling stations will be guarded by a police officer
assisted by eight security guards. For areas defined as having
danger level 1 status, an officer plus six security guards will
handle three polling stations. For areas at danger level 2, two
polling stations will be guarded by a police officer and four
security guards.

Meanwhile, Soenarko disclosed that a team carrying ballot
papers was attacked by a group of unidentified people in
Bogondini, Merauke, Papua.

Some team members, including officials from the local branch
of the KPU and the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu),
were injured.

Soenarko added that a policeman went missing after a boat
safeguarding the distribution of ballot papers in Papua ran into
difficulties in stormy waters.