Ahok-Djarot Volunteer Group Alleges Voter Intimidation in West, North Jakarta
Jakarta. A volunteer group supporting incumbent pair Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat alleges that voters were intimidated at five polling stations in West and North Jakarta on Wednesday (19/04).
Raja Juli Antoni, spokesman for the supporters group known as Badja, said several people with "certain attributes" gathered outside polling stations 13, 16, 17 and 24 in the Kamal area of Kalideres, West Jakarta, to allegedly discourage people from voting.
A similar action was also reported at polling station 15 in Ancol, North Jakarta
"I'm not sure whether it is the Al-Maidah Picnic, but it has caused several voters living in apartments [in Ancol] from going to vote," Raja told the media at the Pullman Hotel in Central Jakarta.
However, he did not elaborate on what he meant with term "certain attributes."
The so-called Al-Maidah Picnic is a planned mass gathering, initiated by several hardline Muslim groups, that would involve people from outside Jakarta going to polling stations to monitor the voting process.
Police have banned any such actions over concern that it may intimidate voters, either physiologically or physically.
"We have other reports of alleged violations, but we can't tell you until those reports are verified by our witnesses," Raja added.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian meanwhile said that he has instructed police chiefs in subdistricts to verify and respond to any reports of intimidation in North and West Jakarta.
"I have checked the report of alleged intimidation in Kamal, but it was a pure misunderstanding. It has been handled by our personnel and police swiftly moved to guarantee safety in the area," Tito told reporters.
He said the voting process ran smoothly without any major incidents.
"There were no significant incidents. We only received reports from a few polling stations out of a total of 13,034," Tito said.
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