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Security precautions in place for regional election dispute hearings
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On duty: Election officers at Polling Station 8, Mangusari, Sidomukti, Salatiga, Central Java, wear Javanese outfits during voting day on Feb.15.
(Antara/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
T
he National Police are preparing for potential riots and anarchic demonstrations during upcoming regional election dispute hearings at the Constitutional Court.
“The security precautions are focused on protecting people at the court, including visitors of hearings so they will not get into physical conflicts, which can lead to anarchy,” National Police spokesperson Sr.Comr. Martinus Sitompul said as quoted by kompas.com in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He said the police had studied security patterns applied in previous election dispute hearings at the Constitutional Court.
During the trials, police personnel will tighten security in each courtroom. The police will also set up security posts for personnel who will be on guard around the clock.
“We have asked the court for permission to set up posts and we have conveyed our suggestions about security measures,” said Martinus. “The security of the regional election dispute trials will be as tight as possible.”
Earlier, MK spokesperson Fajar Laksono said the court had 45 work days to settle election disputes after it handed over Constitutional Case Registration Official Documents (ARPK) to plaintiffs on March 13.
The Constitutional Court will register all election dispute settlement requests after March 13. The court will later hear dispute settlement requests from plaintiffs during hearings from March 16 to 22. A string of follow up sessions will be held before the MK rules on cases during hearings from May 10 to 19.
As of March 3, 49 election dispute settlement requests have been filed with the MK. Of the total, 45 requests are on disputes over results of regental/mayoral elections while four others are related to gubernatorial elections. (dis/ebf)
