Zaky Pawas, Indonesia – Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Depok on Thursday as opposition mounted against Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail, who on Wednesday was sworn in for his second term in office.
The protesters, gathered outside Depok City Hall, claimed that Wednesday's inauguration was illegal in light of a ruling by the West Java State Administrative Court this month that annulled the results of the incumbent's Oct. 16 victory at the polls.
Nur Mahmudi won 41 percent of the vote, ahead of Badrul Kamal, whom he also beat in the 2005 election, with 26.8 percent.
However, Badrul and the other candidates accused Nur Mahmudi's camp of cheating and alleged that the Depok General Elections Commission (KPUD) had conspired to rig the vote.
Their calls for the results to be declared invalid and a re-vote ordered were dismissed in November by the Constitutional Court, which hears election disputes, effectively upholding Nur Mahmudi's victory. However, the protesters on Thursday demanded that he step down.
Depok Police Chief Sr. Comr. Ferry Abraham said an estimated 200 protesters began gathering outside City Hall at 10 a.m., carrying posters with messages objecting to Nur Mahmudi's inauguration a day earlier. "They also pelted the building with frangipani flowers," the officer said.
He added the rally soon turned ugly as the protesters locked the nearby KPUD building and tried to force their way past a police barricade into City Hall.
The protesters also brought out a mock coffin made of wood and set it on fire. "We had to put out the fire because it was threatening to cause severe traffic congestion in the area," Ferry said.
Scuffles then broke out between the protesters and police, prompting senior officers and protest leaders to intervene and persuade everyone not to let their emotions get away. Ferry said the violence lasted about 15 minutes, with no injuries reported.
The police presence at the scene included a water cannon unit and 125 officers from the riot and crowd control squads.
Ferry said the protest, which ended at about noon, caused heavy congestion on the streets in the immediate vicinity of City Hall. "Fortunately, though, no one was injured in the entire incident – no protesters and no police officers," he said.
Nur Mahmudi is accused by his rivals and critics of buying votes when he handed out money during a visit to a hospital and offering free meals before and after the vote last October.
Poll monitors have also alleged that urban ward officials had gone door to door handing out money and telling people to "vote for number three," in an apparent reference to Nur Mahmudi's listing on the ballot.
However, the mayor's camp has denied any wrongdoing, attributing his victory to his achievements during his first term as mayor, including paving roads and repairing other transportation infrastructure in a bid to boost the regional economy.
Prihandoko, a member of the mayor's campaign team, earlier said Nur Mahmudi would continue the same programs in his second term in office, as well as boost lending programs for small- and medium-sized businesses, and empower local youths in a bid to reduce the unemployment rate.