Tangerang council elects new mayor

JAKARTA (JP): Tangerang's mayoralty council chose the township's secretary as its new mayor in elections on Tuesday safeguarded by as many as 300 security personnel.

Mayoralty Secretary Mochammad Thamrin garnered 19 of the 45 available votes during a plenary council session attended by outgoing mayor Djakaria Machmud.

Two other candidates, Bandung Deputy Mayor Endjang Sudarsono and Cirebon Mayoralty Secretary Nana Suryana, received 14 and seven votes respectively.

The mayoralty's committee for elections scratched five votes off of the final tally, explaining that the councilors had failed to properly follow voting procedures.

Local security authorities decided to deploy a strong force to safeguard the election, led by council speaker Dedi Moelyono, based on widespread rumors and circulars saying thousands of people were planning to disrupt the election.

Security personnel blocked off the section of Jl. Nyimas Melati in front of the council building.

Commenting on the smooth election, Tangerang Police Chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar said: "We're very happy that the plenary session proceeded without something serious happening."

A group of residents monitoring the voting process inside the council building, however, expressed concern that five councilors were unable to properly follow voting procedures.

"We're disappointed. How could councilors fail to follow the voting process? Maybe those five councilors are already senile," cried one of the residents.

During the session, security authorities were jolted when a hand grenade was found some 100 meters from the Serpong Police Subprecinct.

Although the location was five kilometers from the council building, a group of officers, including Lt. Col. Pudji, rushed to the scene to assess the situation.

"We're still investigating the nature and status of the grenade," the officer said. (41/bsr)