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Group of people thrown out of polling station in South Jakarta
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A cat walks past booths at a polling station in Rawa Barat, South Jakarta, during the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election on Feb. 15. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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group of people was thrown out of polling station Patra Kuningan 5 in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, by the Setiabudi Police on Wednesday.
The polling station is where the country's third president, BJ Habibie, and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno are scheduled to vote.
"We told this group of people to stay away after they claimed they had been appointed by a supporter of one of the two candidate pairs to guard the polling station. They had no other purpose at the polling station," Setiabudi Police deputy chief Comr. Fahri Siregar said as quoted by Antara news agency.
(Read also: Intimidation, vote-buying reported in Jakarta election runoff)
The group of people wore white shirts emblazoned with a statement calling for society to not be divided.
Fahri asserted that the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) had been assigned to guard every polling station and no one else could claim to provide security during the poll.
"Fortunately, they understood and agreed to leave. However, since one of the people was able to show a letter of deployment as a witness at this polling station, we let that person remain," Fahri said.
Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek also voted at the polling station on Wednesday. After she voted, the minister said she hoped the capital would get a responsible leader who could maintain unity.
Jakartans are heading to polling stations on Wednesday in the runoff election. The race between incumbent ticket Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama-Djarot Syaiful Hidayat and rival Anies Baswedan is very tight, according to pollsters. (afr)
