Political banners, posters erected ahead of schedule

Posters, banners and billboards erected by the campaign teams of candidates running for the South Tangerang mayoral election next month have drawn complaints from the public because they have turned the city into disorder.

“Those candidates should be punished because they have erected their political billboards, banners and posters in public ahead of the campaign period. This is a violation,” Sumantri, a resident of Serpong, said Tuesday.

The campaign period will only start on Oct. 26.

Sumantri said the campaign media had been in place on all streets across the city, but the poll watch and public order officers failed to take actions against them despite the visible violation.

“I wonder where the poll watch members and the public order officers are. Perhaps they are asleep throughout the day,” he said.

Gugun, a public minivan driver, said the campaign media had disturbed public view.

“The banners and billboards disrupted visibility and make the street look dirtyt,” he said.    
In response to the complaints, South Tangerang election supervisory body chairman Muslih Besar said he had asked the candidates during a meeting over the weekend to remove the banners by Monday.