Political parties vie for top seven campaign spots

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Twenty-four political parties are eying seven popular rallying spots in the capital to kick off their open-air legislative election campaigns on March 26.

To avoid any conflict between supporters of different parties, the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD) will allocate the areas to parties on Monday.

"Parties want these places for the third week of their campaign program, which is between March 26 and April 1. In the last week, parties are allowed to hold open-air rallies in public places," KPUD chairman Mohamad Taufik said on Sunday.

During the first and second weeks of the campaign period, parties are only allowed to have indoor meetings at the district level.

However, to mark the beginning of the campaign on March 11, all parties will march down the city's major thoroughfares.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo urged political parties to send letters to the police with detailed information on their campaign activities to ensure security.

"If we don't get the letters, we won't know where the campaigns are being held. As a consequence, we might not be there to keep rally participants safe from rival supporters."

Rivals could steal or deface other parties' paraphernalia in the campaign, Prasetyo said.

Taufik said he would call on all parties to send police the letters on Monday after the rallying spots were decided.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the force has decided to put itself on siaga 1 (high alert) status for the capital starting on Tuesday.

"To ensure security in the capital, we will deploy over 12,000 officers and civilian guards," he was quoted as saying by Tempo Interaktif on Saturday.

The high alert status means every police chief in every territory must prepare officers for emergency situations. They must stay on call 24 hours, seven days a week.

I-box Favorite rallying places: 1. Bung Karno Main Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta 2. Lebak Bulus Stadium, South Jakarta 3. Blok S soccer field, South Jakarta 4. Jend. Urip Sumoharjo field in Jatinegara, East Jakarta 5. North Jakarta Sports Hall in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta 6. Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta 7. Joglo field in Joglo, West Jakarta

Source: Jakarta General Elections Commission