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ocal leaders and prominent figures in Bali are urging the people to remain calm and exercise restraint in the face of growing tension among supporters of competing candidates in the Bali gubernatorial election.

The public has also been asked to patiently wait for the official results of the manual count being carried out by the Bali Regional Elections Commission (KPUD) following the contradictory quick count results from several survey institutions. The commission is slated to hold a plenary meeting on May 25 at the earliest.

'Do not fall victim to any provocations and rumors. Let's keep our island peaceful,' The chairman of Grand Council of Customary Villages (MUDP), Jero Gede Putus Suwena, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

MUDP is an umbrella organization of nearly 1,500 customary villages across the island. Suwena said that he has told all customary village chiefs across Bali to play an active role to maintain a conducive atmosphere during the election process.

'I hope none of the customary village chiefs had any role in the campaigns as they should remain neutral,' he added.

The election is a head-to-head 'battle' placing AA Ngurah Puspayoga and his running mate Dewa Sukrawan, who are endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), against incumbent governor Made Mangku Pastika and Ketut Sudikerta, who are supported by a coalition of nine political
parties -namely Bali Mandara Coalition-, including the Golkar and the Democratic parties.

Voting ran smoothly on May 15 as residents cast their ballots at more than 6,000 voting stations across the island. However, the contradictory quick count results from several survey institutions enticed both camps to claim victory, triggering tension between their respective supporters.

Chairman of the Indonesian Hindu Council Parisadha (PHDI) Bali branch, I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, agreed with Suwena.

'Despite their differing political views, the people should strive to maintain harmony and never forget the local custom of menyama braya, which stipulates that people should live together as brothers and sisters,' Sudiana said.

Sudiana reminded people that the global community was closely observing Bali.

'Bali has become a role model of democracy for many parties. Therefore, we have to be very proud of that and we should prove that the Balinese can organize a democratic election maturely,' Sudiana added.

Sudiana also called for both candidates to play an active role in controlling their constituents.

'Whoever win will be the choice of the people. We should respect that choice,'

Former Gianyar regent and an influential figure from the Ubud royal family, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, popularly known as Cok Ace, shared a similar sentiment.

'Maintaining peace and harmony is the most important thing,'

Cok Ace, who serves as the chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Bali chapter, warned that violent conflicts could taint Bali's image and eventually damage local tourism.

 'Many national and international events will be held in Bali this year. They could be cancelled if there are any security problems in Bali,' Cok Ace said.

On Friday, the Pastika-Sudikerta camp organized a major press briefing to announce the detailed results of its tally. The count was based on C1 forms collected from the witnesses appointed by the camp to monitor and record the election results at all the ballot stations. The tally showed that Pastika-Sudikerta led with 50.11 percent of votes, while Puspayoga-Sukrawan had received 49.89 percent of votes.

'We are convinced that this is the most accurate results available. We hope there's no attempt to rig the results during the manual count process starting from the ballot stations to the district and regency level election commission,' the chairman of Bali Mandara Coalition Sumarjaya Linggih said.