Panca Nugraha and Yemris Fointuna, Mataram/Kupang – A rally to protest the result of the Bima regency election on Monday ended in a brawl between protesters and police in which 12 people were injured, including two police officers.
The police arrested 61 protesters. "The 12 injured people are still receiving treatment at Bima Public Hospital," West Nusa Tenggara Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Sukarman said 800 protesters flocked to the Bima regency General Elections Commission (KPUD) office on Monday afternoon, demanding a recount and alleging voting fraud at the district level that led to heavily skewed results.
Sukarman confirmed the police were forced to fire warning shots to disperse protesters, but denied that police fired on protesters. "They were just warning shots. Any injuries were the result of stones being thrown," he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Sukarman said the situation in Raba City, Bima, had returned to normal. The police, however, were still maintaing a strong presence at the Bima KPUD office. "We call on supporters of defeated candidates to accept the election result. If there are voting irregularities, they can be addressed through legal means, not violence," he said.
Four candidates were contesting the post of regent on June 7. Results showed that Ferry Zulkarnain and running mate Syafruddin M Nur, who were running on a Golkar Party ticket, won 70 percent of the votes.
In East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, the Kupang State Administrative Court (PTUN) ordered the regency KPUD on Monday to reinstate incumbent Simon Hayon and running mate Frans Diaz Alfi as candidates for the regency election.
In the verdict read out by Judge Mariana Ivan Junias, the court accepted the appeal filed by the pair, who were nominated by the Golkar Party, Gerindra and PKPB.
The court also annulled the list of candidates decided by the East Flores KPUD in its plenary session, which disqualified Simon due to incomplete paperwork.
"The East Flores KPUD must now annul that decision," Mariana said
The verdict was greeted with a rally by East Flores university students in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, demanding the regency KPUD carry out the PTUN verdict as soon as possible.
Vitus Pehan Hally Makin from the Alliance of Students for East Flores Democracy, urged the provincial KPUD to finalize the composition of the honorary council established to examine alleged violation of ethical codes by the East Flores KPUD.
"The chairman and members of the East Flores KPUD should resign to show their moral accountability," Vitus, the rally coordinator, said.
East Flores KPUD lawyer Philipus Fernandez said his side would appeal.