Muh Syaifullah, Yogyakarta – The National Police's chief of security maintenance division, Comr. Gen. Moechgiyarto, said five provinces in the country were prone to conflicts during the 2018 simultaneous regional elections.
The five provinces include West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, West Java, Papua, and Maluku. "There are five provinces that will hold the gubernatorial elections that are indicated to be conflict-prone from the eleven indicators that we consider," said Moechgiyarto today in Yogyakarta, Central Java.
According to police mapping, the regions in Papua alone that can potentially spark conflicts are Mimika, Paniai, Jayawijaya, and Central Mamberamo. Districts outside Papua with similar status are Kerinci District and Jambi Province.
Moechgiyarto added the conflicts that might arise in these regions stemmed from issues on ethnicity, religion, race and inter-group relations [SARA], internal conflicts within political parties, geographical condition, and the lack of professionalism by election committees.
"There are 13 regions with single candidates in the 2018 regional elections that are predicted to be prone to conflicts, such as in Pasuruan, Lebak, and Papua. These regions need special attention," he said.