TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Voters eagerly elect new leaders
More than 1
Change Size
More than 1.5 million voters in five regencies flocked to the polls on Tuesday.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said yesterday's elections demonstrated the political wisdom of the people of Bali.
"I am very proud to witness this smooth election. People in Bali are aware of their political rights and exercised them wisely," the governor said.
Incumbent candidates from Badung and Denpasar were ahead in initial vote counts.
Badung Regent Anak Agung Gde Agung led rival candidate Prof. Wayan Wita by almost 40,000 votes, while Denpasar Mayor Ida Bagus Rai Mantra was ahead with nearly 50,000 votes on Tuesday afternoon.
Ketut Sudana Astika, a political analyst from the University of Udayana, said incumbents in Badung, Denpasar and Karangasem regencies were likely to win their local elections.
"Incumbents are more popular among their constituents and have better access and resources during their camapigns," he said.
Ketut Sukawati Lanang Perbawa, the chairman of the Bali General Elections Commission, said the local elections in Badung, Tabanan and Denpasar had been completed in one round of voting, while Karangasem and Bangli would need a second round. Candidates need at least 30 percent of all votes cast to secure a victory.
Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutisna said the elections in Denpasar, Badung, Karangasem, Tabanan and Bangli regencies ran smoothly.
"We received no reports of security problems," Sutisna said after monitoring the local elections in Denpasar and Badung.
There was tight competition in Tabanan, where voters chose from multiple candidates from the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P).
Authorities were concerned about possible security threats in regencies such as Tabanan, which had three candidate pairs.
"Tabanan was one of several regencies with a greater potential for conflict," Sutisna said. "We deployed extra personnel to Tabanan to prevent any possible disruptions."
There were reports of election violations in Bangli regency, but officials refused to invesitgate the allegations further.
I Made Gde Ray Misno, the head of the Denpasar General Elections Commission, said he had not received a report on the number of people choosing not to vote in Denpasar and other areas.
Sick patients in Denpasar voted at Sanglah Hospital and several other facilities that made special arrangements with the election commission. Hundreds of patients in hospitals in the other four other regencies did not have this opportunity.
