Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Police have declared nine people suspects in Saturday's rioting that followed a protest over the inauguration of Pesisir Selatan Regent Nasrul Abit and his deputy Syafrizal. West Sumatra Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Akmil said on Sunday that local police had questioned 20 people involved in the protest, including several high school students.
It was the second violent protest against the results of a direct regional election after an incident in the Bengkulu town of Kaur two months ago. Police opened fire on the protesters on Saturday, wounding two of them who have also been named suspects in the incident.
The suspects were identified as Muspija, 46, Afrizal, 47, Amar, 48, Nofriki, 24, Mike Putra Effendi, 24, Andi, 22 and Fahmi, 17. "I forget the other two," Akmil said. Andi and Fahmi were treated in M. Zain General Hospital, due to gunshot wounds.
Hundreds of people staged a protest on Saturday and felled trees to set up roadblocks on the access road to the provincial capital of Padang from the regental capital of Painan on the northern coast. Children, students and housewives also joined the protest.
The roadblocks were aimed at preventing newly installed Governor Gamawan Fauzi from visiting Painan to inaugurate the reelected regent. Painan is located some 30 kilometers south of Padang.
Hundreds of vehicles were forced to turn back, and Gamawan and his entourage finally reached Painan by boat.
Most of the protesters were residents of Tarusan, who voted for candidates M. Yusril and Bakri Bakar, who lost by a narrow margin of 1,196 votes to the pair of Nasrul and Syafrizal.
The Yusril-Bakri ticket challenged the election result last month as they found indications of fraud in the poll – including the number of voters, which exceeded the registered number, and findings of underage voters and multiple perforation.
The lawsuit, however, was overturned by the West Sumatra High Court. The Pesisir Selatan Election Commission then declared Nasrul and Syafrizal, who were nominated by a coalition of Islamic parties, the winners with 72,738 votes.
A clash occurred on Saturday as the crowd tried to resist hundreds of police officers who came to clear the roadblocks. People threw stones and other objects at the officers, injuring four of them. Protesters also took a police detective, Brig. David, hostage, beating him before his release. Police fired rubber bullets at the angry crowd, injuring at least three people.
M. Akmil defended the tough measures, which he said were in line with procedures. "We opened fire to save the officer who was taken hostage," he said. Despite the riot, however, the inauguration ceremony of the reelected regent and his deputy continued undisturbed at the Zaini Zein Sports Center in Painan.
A clash over a regional election result erupted in Kaur regency in another part of Sumatra Island in July, as thousands of people attacked and set fire to the house of the local legislature's council speaker, the regent's office, the local office of the General Elections Commission and the office of the public housing agency.
The angry mob suspected that the victory of incumbent Regent Syaukani Saleh and his deputy Warman Suwardi was marred by vote-buying. The protest turned violent when no official was willing to address the crowd.
Police named four people, including one of the losing candidates, suspects. They are still under detention pending the completion of the police's investigation into the case.