'€œThis morning, we visited polling station [TPS] 22 in Bekasi. It has 4,003 voters. We will later return to Jakarta to monitor two polling stations if it is possible,'€ said Sutarman as quoted by Antara news agency, at the polling station on Wednesday.

Sutarman said the polling station was selected because Bekasi was relatively near Jakarta and he needed to stay around Jakarta as he had to monitor political developments and the security situation in regions across Indonesia during the election.

'€œThe monitoring activities we are conducting include the distribution of election materials, which have become our common concern,'€ said Sutarman.

Sutarman explained that the police had secured all polling stations on the eve of the presidential election.

'€œWe have checked polling stations in Bekasi and we can ensure that they are safe. People are enthusiastically exercising their right to vote,'€ he said.

The police chief urged people to maintain public order during the ballot and vote counting processes so that the situation during voting day remained conducive.

'€œIf people want to witness the vote counting process after casting their ballots then please do so, but they must do it in an orderly manner,'€ said Sutarman.

Earlier, police head of security maintenance division Comr. Gen. Putut Eko Bayuseno asserted that all police personnel starting from police precincts (Polsek) to police headquarters at the provincial level would be on full alert during the election.

The Jakarta Police have deployed 22,101 personnel, supported by 7,300 Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel and 65,820 public security guards, to secure 32,910 polling stations. (ebf)

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