Laurel Teo – Decked out in the party colour of blood red, tens of thousands of PDI-P supporters surged into the main arteries of Jakarta yesterday. They clogged up the city's traffic and forced the traffic police to close off some roads in the capital.

Crammed into buses, open-top lorries or riding pillion on motorbikes, the crimson tide surged towards the Bung Karno sports stadium in south-west Jakarta, where the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was holding its last big bash in the final week of campaigning.

Party loyalists started streaming into the stadium as early as 9am and were kept entertained for hours by rock bands and top artistes. The crowd had swelled to about 20,000 by 2pm, when party chairman Megawati Sukarnoputri arrived.

In a voice that turned hoarse at times from the strain of shouting, she told them: "It seems that many who don't like me say, 'Hah! Ibu Mega is just a housewife. Yes, I am a housewife. But you have shown me that you love me!" she declared in ringing tones.

Ms Megawati sang and danced to rally support for her party, one of the biggest among the 24 contesting next Monday's poll.

Outside the stadium, thousands more paraded on the streets. They revved their motorbike engines noisily and brandished flags with the party logo – a black bull with fiery red eyes and a white snout.

They kept the law enforcers busy throughout the day. In the Semanggi area alone, near the stadium, 400 traffic police came on duty as early as 4am. They and others hauled up plenty of PDI-P supporters for flouting rules, such as not wearing helmets or overloading vehicles. Traffic was so bad that many taxi drivers refused to take passengers heading anywhere near the stadium.

And even after the rally dispersed with the departure of Ms Megawati, the fever continued. A large lorry carrying a live band, singers and booming speakers, for instance, parked at the roundabout at Jalan Thamrin in downtown Jakarta. It stayed there playing PDI-P songs for 30 minutes, even as a long line of cars and buses began piling up behind it.

Though its presence was by far the most dominating, the PDI-P was not the only party campaigning yesterday.

In South Jakarta, the much smaller Democratic Party held another rally, which drew about 10,000 people, who listened to party candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono speak on the need to reduce poverty and banish corruption.

With the other giant, Golkar, set to hold its final rally today, and other parties to follow, it looks like Jakarta residents won't be getting their peace back anytime soon. At least not until Thursday, when all campaigning is supposed to end.