balinews

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Feb 14, 2010
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Tension between supporters of the competing candidates in the Bali gubernatorial election escalated to new heights Thursday night when a violent clash erupted in Pekambingan subdistrict in Denpasar leaving one man severely injured, while local police in Buleleng came out in full force to prevent a major clash in Bungkulan village, the home of one of the deputy governor candidates.

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, including the Golkar and the Democratic parties.

Details on the clash in Pekam-bingan were still sketchy but it was reported that a volunteer for the Pastika-Sudikerta campaign was assaulted and severely injured by a man wielding a sword.

The witnesses believed that the attack could have been triggered by the fact that the PDI-P-endorsed candidates were defeated at a ballot station in the area. The police have yet to issue any formal announcement tying the attacker to PDI-P or showing the incident was truly triggered by the election.

The victim was identified as Gede Pasek Bandana Negara, 21, and the attacker as Agus Bagiada. The victim was rushed to the Army hospital on Jl. Sudirman for treatment, while the attacker was apprehended by the victim’s friends and turned over to the police.

“The incident took place at 9 p.m. when we are sitting in Pekambingan community hall. The attacker came on a motorbike and immediately attacked Bandana Putra,” the victim’s older brother, Gusman Rahina
Mahardika, said.