Thousands protest new Toraja regent

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Thousands of locals thronged the Tana Toraja legislative building on Tuesday, demanding a rerun of the regent election due to allegations of bribery.

The group threatened to vandalize the building if the legislators failed to meet their demand.

The protest was sparked by the unlikely win of Yohannes Amping Situru in the vote on Monday. He qualified for the election after finishing at the bottom in the preliminary selection.

Surprisingly, Yohanes won by 13 votes in the election to beat favorite Musa Todung who managed only seven votes.

There was no response from the legislators as of Tuesday afternoon. (27/edt)