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Political dynamics may affect Jakarta election: Bawaslu
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Preparations – People fold ballot papers for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election at the West Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU) office on Jan. 27. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
T
he Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has said increasing tension among the Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pairs and their supporters could have an impact on voting day, which is scheduled for Feb. 15.
Bawaslu’s monitoring division coordinator Daniel Zuchron said increasing political tension in Jakarta could be seen in news reports in mass media and conversations on social media.
“In the city, there is no problem with the integrity of the election organizers or the election procedures. However, political tension here is stronger than in other regions. This may affect what will happen at polling stations on Election Day,” he said at the Bawaslu office in Central Jakarta on Monday.
The Election Vulnerability Index in Jakarta stood at 2.297, higher than Bangka Belitung (2.293) and Gorontalo (2.015), Bawaslu revealed on Monday.
However, Jakarta was still less vulnerable than West Sulawesi (2.367), Banten (3.147), Aceh (3.327) and West Papua (3.381).
The vulnerability index, which has a scale of 0 to 5, was based on three main dimensions, namely election implementation, contestation and participation.
Five aspects also determined the index. They comprised voter data validity, complete logistics distribution, public official intervention in the election process, money politics and the fulfillment of election procedures.
(Read also: Seven provinces ‘most vulnerable’ in 2017 elections: Index)
Daniel explained further that political tension, which usually spread quickly on social media, might also kindle problems at polling stations on voting day.
Bawaslu had suggested all election organizers and supervisors paid close attention to this matter, he added.
“We have asked them to coordinate with local administrations and security forces and to engage community leaders to safeguard the elections,” he said. (ebf)
