TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Campaign banners in spotlight after causing road accidents
Change Size
Motorists drive past party flags placed on bicycle lane barriers in Menteng, Jakarta, on Jan. 8, 2024. Some election campaign materials have been put up in places prohibited by local authorities, such as flyovers and highways, harming motorists and pedestrians alike. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
Elections watchdogs and members of the public have called for more order and restraint in the placement of campaign flags and banners in response to a series of recent road accidents caused by falling campaign materials.
On Monday, a campaign banner for House of Representatives candidate Ilma Sovri Yanti of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), who is seeking the Jakarta I electoral district’s seat, fell on a man and a woman riding a motorcycle in Cakung, East Jakarta.
The banner, which had been put up on the side of the street, was reportedly knocked down by a gust of wind and caused the two victims to fall off their motorbikes.
The man sustained a minor injury to his leg while the woman suffered a mild concussion, Ilma said after visiting them at their home, kompas.com reported on Tuesday. The legislative candidate offered to pay for their treatment.
Following the incident, the Cakung Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) instructed Ilma and other candidates to take down some of their campaign banners as their numbers had been excessive in the past few months.
Ilma has reportedly taken down all ten of the campaign banners her team had installed on roadsides in Cakung.
Read also: Creative campaign ads may be catchy, but not always effective
