Regent's supporters occupy office

Regent's supporters occupy office

SURABAYA, East Java: Thousands of supporters of Sampang
regent-elect Fadhilah Budiono occupied the local regency office
on Monday demanding that he be inaugurated as the new regent
within the next three days.

The rally forced all of the regency's employees to flee the
office, while several state schools were closed for the day.
Around 200 policemen were deployed to guard strategic places in
the city.

Fadhilah, who was elected Sampang regent last September, has
yet to be inaugurated following protests from several factions at
the local legislative council that the election result was not
valid because two councillors who had quit the council had cast
ballots.

The prolonged dispute came to the fore again on Monday as the
protesters, who were backed by most district heads and village
leaders in the regency, threatened the authorities if they failed
to meet the demand.

"If the governor fails to inaugurate him, we'll not be
responsible for what happens to this government," Nurun Tajalla,
one of the village leaders, said.

East Java Governor Imam Utomo said it was the minister of home
affairs and regional autonomy who had the authority to settle the
matter.

"I have informed the minister about this as it is very
difficult for me to run the government because of this problem,"
Imam said. (nur/dja)