Activists displaying the freshly severed heads of two dogs outside the Jakarta offices of Indonesia's Election Commission (KPU) yesterday in a gruesome protest against the commission's alleged incompetence in organising upcoming polls.

About 50 members of the Jakarta Development Watch and the Sejahtera Independent Labour Union hung a board with the dripping heads and a sign declaring "KPU has failed to prepare for the election' on the gate of the commission. This symbolises the fact that the KPU members are only dogs who are fighting over bones," said one of the demonstrators.

The protesters allege corruption in the procurement of election materials.

Indonesia will hold a legislative election on April 5 and a direct presidential election on July 5. The campaigning will start throughout the country on Thursday. Up to 147 million voters are expected to vote at more than half a million polling stations across the country.