Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Supporters of gubernatorial candidates Agum Gumelar and Nu'man Abdul Hakim (Aman) on Monday besieged the West Java office of the General Elections Commission (KPUD), demanding it cancel a meeting scheduled for Tuesday to finalize election results.
Crowds from an alliance of political parties backing the Aman pair, including youth groups from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the United Development Party, began arriving at 9 a.m. The crowd, including housewives and children, were stopped by police at the entrance to Jl. Garut, 200 meters from the KPUD office.
"We urge the KPUD to immediately stop all the false vote counting because those who are leading have apparently cheated," a member of the West Java Ka'bah Front, Nurul Anggalaksana, told the crowd.
Police had to reroute traffic to Jl. Sukabumi because the crowd blocked Jl. Garut, forcing traffic to back up to Jl. Jakarta.
Hundreds of riot police were called in to control the crowd, which had inched its way to the KPUD office, where regency and city votes were being counted.
The heated situation prompted police to mediate and they eventually allowed 10 representatives of the protesters to meet KPUD officials at 12:30 p.m. However, none of the officials were ready to meet them and the protesters voiced their dissatisfaction.
KPUD spokesman Heri Suherman said his office could not stop the vote count. "The losing candidates have three days after the final vote count to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the results. Please make use of that period to express your dissatisfaction," Heri told the crowd, followed by boos from protesters.
Aman supporters presented alleged evidence of vote rigging found in Ketamukti and Gunungsari subdistricts, and in Ciranjang, Cianjur regency, where they claimed rival candidates Ahmad Heryawan and Dede Yusuf (Hade) from the Prosperous Justice Party and National Mandate Party had cheated.
In Gunungsari, the Hade pair won after obtaining an additional 369 votes, while in Kertamukti, a counting error indicated they earned 1,082 votes that should have totaled 985, the protesters claimed.
The representatives were angry, banging on desks and shouting that the KPUD had not acted lawfully. Police then detained a representative, Lili Muslihat, who threatened to strike a KPUD member during a quarrel.
"We will not leave the KPUD before you promise to cancel the plenary meeting. Look outside. We have thousands of people who are ready to do damage," asserted Lili when he was dragged away by a number of policemen.
Scores of protesters are still occupying the KPUD office, while most of them have dispersed. West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Susno Duadji urged political party leaders to restrain their supporters to prevent chaos.
During the campaign period between March 24 and April 9, the provincial police recorded violations committed by the candidates' campaign teams.
Based on video recordings, all candidates violated campaign rules, such as illegally putting up banners and posters, carrying out campaign rallies and parades outside their schedules as well as vote-buying. "We are still conducting investigations of every case that can be processed," said Susno.