Election day fell on good day in Bali

Election day fell on good day in Bali

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post/Denpasar

The police officer took out his pager and showed the last message
displayed on the beeper's green LCD screen. Red Jimny Katana D
183 KH, heading toward Nusa Dua, the message read.

"We have been looking for that vehicle ever since. Until now
we have not been able to locate it," he said.

It was said that the particular vehicle, a red jeep with
Bandung (West Java) license plates, was carrying a significant
amount of explosive materials that may be used to stage a car-
bomb attack in an effort to disrupt the presidential election on
the island.

"Information on the vehicle was first received on Saturday
evening, two days before the election runoff. We have been on top
alert ever since," he acknowledged.

On the other hand, he also acknowledged that there was a great
possibility that the tip was nothing but a hoax, particularly
given the fact that a state-of-the-art bomb detector -- the
island's police have four such sophisticated instruments -- had
been utilized to scan every incoming vehicle on the island's
western tip, at the Gilimanuk harbor ferry, the most likely point
of entry for the vehicle.

"However, we don't want to take any chances. That's the reason
why we deployed a large number of uniformed and plainclothes
officers to track the vehicle," he said.

His attitude reflected the general sentiment that prevails
among the island's security apparatus, who, after the terrorist
attack in October 2002, take the issue of security on the island
as their personal responsibility.

The attack involved a powerful car bomb and killed at least
202 people, mostly foreigners.

Naturally, security during the election runoff on Sept. 20 was
very tight with a heavy presence of fully-armed, uniformed
security personnel at various strategic places in Denpasar and
major tourist areas, such as Kuta and Nusa Dua.

"We are all out in full force today, Police and the Army, " an
Army intelligence officer said.

The charismatic Bali Police chief Maj. Gen. Made Mangku
Pastika left his office early in the morning for the city of
Tabanan while his deputy Brig. Gen. Teguh Sudarsono sped up north
to the coastal city of Singaraja. Both cities are volatile areas,
known for numerous politically-motivated violent clashes.

"The general (Mangku Pastika) refused to use the police
helicopter, believing that by staying on the ground he would be
able to direct his subordinates more effectively if something bad
taken place," a police officer told.

Fortunately, the runoff went smoothly. A minor incident,
involving drunken Megawati supporters burning car tires in
Dalung, was swiftly dealt with by a truckload of riot police. Two
perpetrators with a prolonged "hangover" were detained inside the
Denpasar Police detention center.

The red jeep was nowhere in sight.

"Well, tracking a possible terrorist is surely a much better
and nobler way of spending the night than playing cards with
fellow officers," a police intelligence officer said.

"Absolutely, particularly when you are the worst card player
in the whole Division Six (intelligence)," another officer joked.

Rumors of a possible terrorist attack was not the only thing
that marred the runoff. The second thing was the low voter
turnout.

For instance, in five polling stations in Pemecutan Kaja
village, the percentage of voters who failed to show up ranged
from 14 to 33 percent. Likewise in Sumerta village, the average
percentage of "no show" voters at 20 polling stations reached 31
percent.

Moreover, the total number of "no show" voters in Badung
regency reached 65,000.

Previously, the chairman of Bali's General Elections
Commission (KPU) AA Oka Wisnumurti had expressed concern over the
low voter turnout, claiming that it did not necessarily reflect
the people's lack of enthusiasm in the country's political life.

"It is an unfortunate coincidence that election day, Sept. 20,
falls on a day that is an auspicious day for Balinese Hindus," he
said.

The election day fell on Kajeng Kliwon or Soma Kliwon Krulut,
a very auspicious day according to the Balinese calendar. The day
is deemed to be a dewasa ayu (good day) to hold various
religious rituals in connection with both Dewa Yadnya (sacred
offering to Gods) and Bhuta Yadnya (sacred offering to the
natural forces).

"We have received information that many villages in Bali will
hold huge temple rituals on that day. We are afraid that these
rituals might influence the number of voters who will show up at
polling stations," he said.

In the first-round of the presidential election the percentage
of voters who did not show up at the polling stations, reached
only 18.6 percent of a total 2,526,075 registered voters.

"There is a possibility that the percentage will reach 19
percent this time. However, I don't think that it will go beyond
20 percent out of a total of 2,530,260 registered voters," deputy
chairman of Bali's KPU IGP Artha told.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the KPU had tabulated 85 percent of
the total ballots. So far, Megawati Soekarnoputri led the race
with 1,250,037 votes while Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)
garnered 756, 241 votes.

In the first round of the presidential election Megawati
received 1,115,788 votes, while SBY gained 654,127 votes.