JAKARTA, May 21 (Xinhua) --- Indonesian national police imposed an alert status in the country's capital of Jakarta Tuesdayb even as the presidential poll result had been announced, police spokesman said here on Tuesday.
National police spokesman Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo said the status was effective from Tuesday and will end on Saturday, during which period militants have plotted to launch bomb strikes on planned rallies opposing the poll results.
"It has been imposed an alert status, because, for now, terrorist strikes are real threat, especially after we arrested many militants who will stage terrorist attacks on May 22," said Prasetyo.
Anti-terror squad of Indonesian national police has nabbed 72 alleged militants since January and issued warning of a terrorist plot during a mass rally on poll result day on Wednesday, according to police.
Although the country's electoral commission released the official result of the presidential poll a day earlier than schedule, the security authority still does not rule out the potential of terrorist attacks, said Prasetyo.
The spokesman convinced the people the security authority are on guard to secure the capital city.
"The people do not need to be fear(ful), please engage in activities as usual. Police and soldiers are boosting security," said Prasetyo.
The electoral commission announced the victory of President Joko Widodo after midnight, in a bid to avoid the day when the terrorist strikes were plotted.
On Tuesday afternoon hundreds of people started rally outside the country's Election Supervisory Body, expressing disagreement on the poll results, but it did not turn to violence or anarchy as police and soldiers were on guard to secure the protest.
President Widodo declared his victory after the announcement while rival former general Prabowo Subianto rejected the result and is to challenge it in the country's Constitutional Court.
In raids, the anti-terror squad has seized scores of assembled bombs prepared for the strikes and high explosive of triaceton triperoxide or TATP also known as mother of satan, according to the police.
Most of the captured militants were members of an outlawed Jemaah Anshorut Daulah (JAD), which is an allegiance of the IS terrorist group in Syria, it said.
Members of the JAD had staged in several terrorist strikes in Indonesia, including the multiple suicide attacks in East Java and Riau provinces in May, 2018, and suicide strikes in the a police station and Starbucks Cafe in the heart of Jakarta that killed eight people in January 2016, according to the police.
