Banten gubernatorial election protested

Banten gubernatorial election protested

SERANG, Banten: More than 500 people of The Oppressed Group (Keras) and of the Banten Care Society Alliance (Ampibi) staged a demonstration in the city on Monday, demanding the Banten provincial legislative council halt the ongoing gubernatorial election.

The demonstrators, who came from Tangerang, Lebak, Pandeglang and the city, also demanded Dharmono K. Lawi, chairman of the provincial legislature and 15 legislators who were transferred from the West Java provincial legislature, step down because they did not represent the people of Banten.

Mahdi Ardiyansyah, coordinator of Keras, said the gubernatorial election had to be canceled because all candidates were determined not to abide by official procedure.

At the same time, 500 Banten defenders wearing black uniforms staged a counter-demonstration, demanding the provincial legislature speed up the gubernatorial election.

The demonstrations forced security personnel to be on full alert to avoid clashes between the two groups of demonstrators.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Jati Wiyono, chief of Serang Police precinct, said he had asked coordinators of the two groups to avoid violence between their supporters.

"The coordinators of the two sides should take account of clashes among their supporters," he said.

The provincial legislature has picked three from ten pairs of candidates for governor and deputy governor, who are to be elected in the near future.

The three pairs of candidates were Ace Suhaidi/Mamas, Djoko Munandar/Atut Chosiah and Herman Haeruman/Ade Sudirman. --Antara