REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Wednesday expressed optimism that the presidential election held today will proceed smoothly without any distractions.
"The election will run smoothly because all the police and military personnel are guarding it," Purnomo stated after casting his vote at a polling booth near his residence in South Jakarta.
When asked about his views on the Military Chief General Moeldoko's order for the security personnel to shoot at sight anyone who tries to ruin the presidential election process, Purnomo expressed his agreement to the order.
"I have approved that policy," he admitted.
Indonesia is holding a presidential election on July 9, 2014.
The election is contested by the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair and the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla duo.
According to the KPU, a total of 190,307,134 voters have been registered, which includes 2,038,711 overseas voters and 486,866 polling stations across the archipelago.