National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) forces tightened security measures on Sunday, with an emphasis on Papua, where threats of security disturbances are believed to be intensifying ahead of the July 9 presidential election.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Budiman said on Sunday that pollsters'€™ predictions that the upcoming presidential election would result in a very tight race had also contributed to the potential instability.

'€œWe are getting more alert because the voting gap [between the two candidates] is likely to be very small.'€

'€œIf the quick counts during voting day show more than a 5 percent difference, I think the situation will be much safer,'€ Budiman said, after conducting a teleconference with several regional military commanders at Army headquarters in Central Jakarta.

The Army, said Budiman, had raised the alert level across the archipelago, and would maintain it until the General Elections Commission (KPU) concluded its official tally early next month.

'€œThe potential conflicts between supporters of both camps are high,'€ Budiman said.

The official closing of the campaign period on July 5 ended with both the Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo-Jusuf Kalla ticket and the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa ticket feeling upbeat about their electoral chances.

In Papua, the country'€™s easternmost region, which has been riddled by separatist conflict for years, security disturbances could even come from armed groups, the military warned.

Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua, the commander of the Cendrawasih Military overseeing Papua and West Papua provinces, said separatist groups in the region had begun issuing threats to sabotage the election.

'€œThese separatist groups have distributed messages calling on people to boycott the election. They have even threatened to attack polling stations which we, as well as the police, are going to guard on election day,'€ he said.

Christian made it clear that the military was prepared to take decisive action against any such incidents if the local police were unable to manage them.

'€œThe election is an opportunity for them [armed separatist groups] to increase their visibility amid the huge national, even international media coverage. If they are armed, we are surely going to shoot them,'€ he said.

Since Sunday, the Cendrawasih Military Command has been put under '€œsiaga satu'€ status, or the highest level of alert.

Over the past few days, footage has been swirling in the region showing a man named Erimbo Enden Wanimbo, who claims to be the commander of Free West Papua'€™s (OPM) seventh division, threatening to attack vital objects and security officers in the Pegunungan Tengah (central mountains) area of Papua.

'€œDon'€™t mess around with us,'€ Christian warns in the video.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has identified six areas in Papua where security threats are high.

They include the regencies of Lanny Jaya, Puncak Jaya, Keerom, Yapen Islands and Jayapura, as well as areas near the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border in Skouw Wutung.

National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said the police would deploy 254,088 personnel to provide security during the election and would receive assistance from more than 35,000 military personnel and 900,000 civilian community guards (Linmas).

Of that number, 30,000 police officers will safeguard capital city Jakarta before, during and after election day.

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