The statement was signed by Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan, Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) head Sumarno and Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Panwaslu) head Mimah Susanti.

The three institutions have banned any mass mobilization that may result in physical or psychological intimidation of voters.

One of the three points in the statement says, “Should any group of people from outside Jakarta attempt to engage in such activity [mass mobilization], the National Police, the Army and all relevant institutions will take preventive measures by searching [the aforementioned group] on the road, and they will be asked to return to their hometown.”

Those who fail to comply with the instruction are subject to sanctions in accordance with legal procedures, the statement says.

The ban comes after the initiation of a movement called Tamasya Al-Maidah (Al-Maidah Tour), which encourages Indonesians to come to Jakarta to “guard” polling stations during the April 19 Jakarta gubernatorial election runoff.

Al Maidah Tour is named after a verse in the Quran that is often used by conservative Muslim political groups to urge Muslims not to vote for political candidates of different faiths. 

The campaign team of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is a Christian of Chinese descent, has voiced its concern about the movement, saying it may intimidate voters who want to vote for the incumbent and his running mate, Djarot Saiful Hidayat. (dea)

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