Military personnel to guard elections

Military personnel to guard elections

The Jakarta Military Command will deploy 1,200 personnel to help
15,968 officers from the Jakarta Police in securing the upcoming
general elections.

"The police will be in command while the military personnel
will carry on their duty under our supervision," Jakarta Police
spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on Friday after a coordinating
meeting with Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara
and Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Agustadi Sasongko
Purnomo.

Prasetyo said that two to four police officers would be posted
at 2,812 polling stations in the Greater Jakarta area, which
includes Jakarta, Depok, Bekasi and Tangerang. The polling
stations incorporate a total of 46,489 polling booths for over
12.8 million voters.

As for the military personnel, they will be on alert at their
designated posts.

Both the police and the military will carry weapons including
firearms with rubber bullets.

In Jakarta police will be assisted by 93,048 community guards
in securing the polling stations and patrolling the
neighborhoods. The guards have been trained by the Jakarta Police
for the task.

The legislative election campaign period starts on March 11
while the election itself will be on April 5. As for the direct
presidential election, the campaign period begins in June while
the election will be on July 5. A second phase will take place in
September if there is no outright winner in July.

Prasetyo said the police would be on high alert from the
beginning of the campaign period until the elections end, adding
that all officers must be on call in the event of disturbances
and they were prohibited from taking leave. -- JP