R

egional election commissions (KPUDs) and police personnel across the country are busy preparing for the upcoming regional elections slated for Dec. 9 nationwide as tensions rise in a number of regions.

In Bali thousands of police officers will be deployed to a total of 3,965 polling stations in six regencies and one city.

'€œWe will deploy at least one police officer per polling station,'€ Denpasar Police chief, Sr. Comr. Anak Agung Made Sudana, told reporters during a rehearsal on Monday.

Sudana revealed that the police had mapped polling stations categorized as vulnerable, adding that two to three police officers would be deployed to each station.

A total of 1.6 million voters in Bali are expected to cast their vote for new regents and a mayor on polling day.

In South Sulawesi, in anticipation of possible disturbances during the elections, police heightened security levels on Monday, especially in regions categorized as prone to violence.

A total of 15 regions in the province, comprising 11 regencies and four cities will be holding elections. Of the 15 regions, four are categorized as prone to violence. They are Gowa, Soppeng, Tana Toraja and North Luwu regencies.

North Sulawesi Police Chief Insp. Gen. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar said he had prepared two thirds of his personnel, 12,000 officers, for deployment throughout the 15 regions on Monday.

The number of intelligence posts had also been increased, he said, as were their monitoring and surveillance activities.

So far, he added, the election process had run securely and smoothly. He expressed the hope the situation would stay that way until all the stages of the election process were complete.

Meanwhile, in Surakarta, Central Java, the campaign teams of the two contending candidate pairs have reported each other to the local police over threats allegedly made by their rivals.

The campaign team of Anung Indro Susanto-Muhammad Fajri reported that the car of the team'€™s consultant, Diki Candra, was damaged by an unidentified person as it was parked in front of a restaurant.

'€œI am sure the act had something to do with the election,'€ Diki said on Monday.

The campaign team of former mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo and his running mate Achmad Purnomo, similarly, reported a threat received by Pipik Dian Irawati, who was due to speak at a campaign event.

According to the team'€™s chairman Putut Gunawan, Pipik received threatening text messages as she was on her way to the event and she decided to return to her hotel.

Surakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Comr. Yuliantara said his office had questioned a number of witnesses to the attack on the car and was tracing the text message threats to Pipik.

'€œWe immediately dealt with the reports. We have examined a number of witnesses,'€ Yuliantara said.

The Anung'€“Fajri pair has been nominated jointly by the Democratic Party, the National Mandate Party, the United Development Party, the Golkar Party, the Prosperous Justice Party and the Gerindra Party.

The Hadi'€“Purnomo pair has been nominated solely by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The Wonogiri, Central Java, KPUD has decided to scrap the quick count process at the election because of fears of violence amid mounting tension.