Police To Deploy 20 Thousand Personnel To Ensure Elections

Jakarta, Oct 21 (Antara) - The Indonesian police force will deploy some 20 thousand personnel to secure the parliamentary elections in April next year, Commissioner General Badrodin Haiti said. "We have prepared around 20 thousand personnel for the security of the general elections," the head of Security and Security Maintenance at the National Police Headquarters noted ahead of a national seminar for staff and high-ranking police school members here on Monday. He confirmed that measures have also been adopted to identify areas that are vulnerable to horizontal conflicts. "Some areas have been identified based on our previous experience," he explained but declined to name these areas. Based on past experience, conflicts have emerged due to problems with the list of voters, impartiality issues, black campaigning, and so on. Badrodin said the police are currently still monitoring the conflict in Nduga, Papua, due to various factors that continue to be of concern such as geographical conditions and the presence of armed groups. "Anticipatory measures, however, have already been adopted by local police commands," he remarked. National police chief General Timur Pradopo said earlier that all manner of threats to the security of the elections have already been anticipated. "I think they have been foreseen," he claimed, adding that the threats could include bombings and social conflicts. He has called on the public to assist the police in ensuring that the next general elections run smoothly. "This is indeed the responsibility of the police, but we hope the people will also help to eliminate threats," he asserted. General Pradopo also appealed to all political party candidates to follow the campaign rules to avoid the various factors that could create conflict.