Buleleng tense after regent election
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Singaraja, Bali
Tensions are rising in the coastal regency of Buleleng, some 100 kilometers north of Denpasar on Tuesday following the defeat of PDI Perjuangan's duo for the top regent and deputy regent posts for the 2002-2007 period in a regency election on Monday.
The defeated nominee, Sudharmaja Duniaji who is also the local legislative council chairman, stated his objection to the voting that resulted in duo Putu Bagiada and Gede Wardana being elected as the new regent and deputy regent of Buleleng.
Sudharmaja and 26 other PDI Perjuangan councillors then declared the election result as void, but the council's election committee refused to obey Sudharmaja's move and continued with the election process instead.
"The result is valid. Our obligation is to conduct an election, and I personally believe that we have fulfilled that obligation in accordance with all regulations and laws. If the council, or some parts of the council, question its validity and refuse to accept it is not my problem and neither is it the problem of this committee," the election committee's chairman I Nyoman Gede Astawa said.
The election committee sealed the voting papers, put them inside a locked white wooden box, which was later temporarily kept at the local police station before being sent on Wednesday to the Bali Governor's office in Denpasar.
It was a tragic and humiliating defeat for Sudharmaja since his candidacy was openly supported by his own party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).
Three members of the party's central executive committee, Mangara Siahaan, Gunawan Wirosaroyo, and Gusti Ngurah Sara, attended the election in an apparent show of support for Sudharmaja. Moreover, PDI Perjuangan holds a 31-seat majority in the Buleleng council.
A local analyst said the result of the voting reflected the deep rift that currently exists within the local PDI Perjuangan structure.
The election was held under very tight security that involved at least 2,500 security officers, including some 300 officers from the Denpasar-based police elite Mobile Brigade.
Two rows of police personnel guarded the council building, roads were closed, barricades placed, and two armored tactical vehicles were seen nearby. Hundreds of pecalang (traditional guards) were also deployed all over Singaraja.