Security upped as legislature set to elect Bali gubernor
Security upped as legislature set to elect Bali gubernor
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
Police said on Tuesday that at least 650 personnel, including
soldiers, would be deployed to provide security in the vicinity
of the Bali legislative council, which is electing the province's
governor on Wednesday.
The personnel will include two companies of elite Mobile
Brigade paramilitary police and about 200 riot police. Two
platoons of Army soldiers and Navy marines have also been put on
stand-by.
"We will search the building and cordon it off early on
Wednesday. When the process is complete, only authorized
personnel and invited guests will be allowed to enter the plenary
hall, where the gubernatorial election will take place," said the
Denpasar Police's chief of operations and control, Comr. R Agus
Sugianto.
A walk-through metal detector has been placed at the entrance
to the plenary hall. During the election, guests are banned from
bringing cellular phones, while the council's secretariat has
issued special identity cards for journalists covering the event.
Three candidates -- incumbent Bali Governor Dewa Made Beratha,
wealthy businessman Putu Gede Ary Suta and former Gianyar regent
Tjokorda Budi Suryawan -- are contesting the race.
Beratha, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), has secured the support of top party leader
President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Megawati had issued an order to her party's councillors in
Bali to vote for Beratha. The PDI Perjuangan is the largest
faction in the 55-strong council, holding 39 seats.
Ary Suta has been nominated by the five-seat Golkar faction,
while Tjokorda's candidacy has been backed by the five-member
Kebangsaan Indonesia faction, a coalition of councillors from the
National Awakening Party, National Mandate Party and the Republic
Party.
Since Monday night, all 39 PDI Perjuangan councillors have
been sequestered in the remote five-star Bali Cliff resort, some
35 kilometers away from the Bali capital.
They have been forbidden from having cellular phones and from
contacting those outside the resort.
"It's not a quarantine. It is a meeting aimed at solidifying
the faction's stance so as to secure the execution of the party's
recommendation," Bali PDI Perjuangan chairman Ida Bagus Wesnawa
said on Tuesday.
Senior executives of the party's central board, Gunawan
Wirosarojo, Pramono Anung, Mangara Siahaan and Sutjipto are in
Bali to brief the councillors.
The sequestration of councillors is normal in Indonesia to
prevent them from being "got at" by third parties so as to make
them switch their allegiances to rival gubernatorial candidates
hours before the election.
Initially, many PDI Perjuangan councillors had opposed the
central board's support for Beratha, instead supporting the
nomination of Cok Ratmadi, who is currently serving as the Badung
regent.
The opposition apparently ended after Ratmadi withdrew his bid
for the Bali governorship after failing to win the support of
Megawati.
"However, all the party's councillors will still be asked to
make legal affidavits declaring that they will vote for Beratha
and are ready to face any consequences if they fail to do so,"
Wesnawa said.
He said the central board had agreed to fire party councillor,
Gede Ngurah Wididana, who is also a traditional herbal
entrepreneur, as he is continuing to stand as Ary Suta's running
mate.
On Tuesday, two groups of protesters staged rival rallies at
the council -- one in support of Beratha and another against him.