Kurniawan Hari and Evi Mariani, Jakarta – An explosion halted the finalizing of the presidential election vote count by the General Elections Commission (KPU) for several hours on Monday afternoon.
The "firecracker-like" explosion damaged a door, shattered windows and punched a hole in the ceiling of a ladies restroom on the first floor of the KPU building on Jl. Imam Bonjol. No casualties were reported but heavy traffic congestion ensued on the usually busy thoroughfare.
The KPU announced the results of the July 5 election later in the evening. It was the first explosion to mar the otherwise peaceful election. A run-off election will now be held on September 20 pitting Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono against President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that the explosive consisted of potassium chlorate, which was often used for making firecrackers.
"The device was not a bomb," he told the press after examining the blast scene at the KPU offices. Minor as the explosion was, it had high resonance as it went off as the KPU was still finalizing the vote tally.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said that half-an-hour before the blast an unidentified person had called the KPU and said there was a bomb in the building. The KPU staff member who received the call promptly informed the police standing guard at the building, who then found a cardboard box inside the ladies restroom at around 1:00 p.m.
"The box measured 10 x 15 x 10 centimeters," Firman said. "It contained potassium chlorate, and there were no wires found in the box." The bomb squad was immediately alerted but the material exploded five minutes later. The police, however, failed to explain how the substance could have exploded spontaneously.
Firman said that the police had questioned six KPU employees and two police officers as witnesses. "We don't know the motive yet," Firman said when asked by reporters.
He added that the police were responsible for security at the KPU building. "But the KPU staff considered the building to be a public place so that people were free to come and go," he said. "We are now in the process of tightening security here." The building was closed for about two hours before it was reopened again at 3:30 p.m.
Sarodi, a mineral water vendor, said that he was chatting with acquaintances on the sidewalk in front of the KPU offices when the explosion occurred.
"It sounded a bit like a steel cabinet had fallen over. The ground didn't shake, or anything," he told The Jakarta Post. Titin Zakiah, an official from the Aceh General Elections Committee, said that she had just heard a bang, and that the ground had not shook.