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Jakarta Police deploy 2,000 officers for inaugural election debate
A team comprising 2,000 Jakarta Police personnel will be deployed to secure the KPU headquarters and divert traffic as the first of five election debates takes to the national stage on Tuesday evening.
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General Elections Commission (KPU) chair Hasyim Asy'ari (foreground) reads out the Declaration on the 2024 Peaceful Election Campaign at the KPU's Jakarta headquarters on Nov. 27, 2023 as the three 2024 candidate pairs stand in a row behind him. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
The Jakarta Police plan to deploy 2,000 officers to secure the first of the five 2024 election debates for presidential and vice presidential candidates, to be held on Tuesday evening at the headquarters of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Central Jakarta.
“The total [number of] personnel involved in this [security detail] is 2,000 officers,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said in a statement on Monday, as quoted by Antara News.
The KPU is holding the first debate of the series at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, at which the three presidential candidates will address the topics of law, corruption, governance, democracy, human rights and tolerance.
Anies Baswedan, Prabowo Subianto and Ganjar Pranowo, as well as their supporters, are expected to be present at the venue for the debate, which is to be broadcast live on television and online channels.
The debate is scheduled to last 120 minutes and will involve a panel of 11 experts in politics, law, human rights and other relevant fields from several renowned universities in the country.
“For the first presidential-vice presidential debate, the stage will [feature] only the presidential candidates,” KPU chairman Hasyim Asy’ari told a press conference on Monday.
The Jakarta Police’s Trunoyudo said the 2,000 personnel on the security detail would comprise seven teams from the paramilitary task force (Satgas) assigned to specific duties: preemptive and preventive measures, traffic security, safety and order, action, law enforcement, public relations and operational assistance.
City police have also readied a strategy to redirect traffic around the KPU headquarters to anticipate a massive gathering of the candidates’ supporters in the area.
Trunoyudo added that the traffic diversion strategy would be situational, commencing at 3 p.m. and through the starting time of 7 p.m. for the inaugural debate.
“We expect and ask the public to avoid the area where [tonight’s] debate will be conducted,” he said.
