Again, Voting Pilkades In Tangerang, Mysterious Smoke Suddenly Appears From The Voice Box

The committee during the voting at the Tigaraksa Village Head Election, Tangerang. Banten (Azmi Samsul Maarif)/DOK ANTARA

TANGERANG - People in Tigaraksa, Tangerang Regency, Banten were shocked by the mysterious discharge of smoke from inside the ballot box holding the simultaneous 2023 village head elections (Pilkades). The incident, which was considered mysterious, occurred during the voting stage at the polling station (TPS) 7, Kampung Gudang, Pasirnangka Village, Tigaraksa, Sunday, September 24. Based on ANTARA's observation at the crime scene (TKP) in the afternoon, the appearance of the mysterious smoke was no longer visible. However, the situation at the TPS was filled with security officers and local residents who were curious about the incident. One of the residents of Kedong-dong Village, Pasirnangka Village, Tigaraksa District, Rojudin (48), said that during the voting, smoke suddenly appeared in the polling box at TPS 7. The committee immediately rushed to the ballot box and opened the ballot box to check the situation in the ballot box, because it was feared that there would be a source of fire that was put into the ballot box. "When the ballot boxes were opened. The smoke was booming and the ballots were spilled, but when checked there was nothing in it, only a few ballots caught fire," he said. Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Pilkades Committee for Pasirnangka Badrusalam Village confirmed the appearance of mysterious smoke from inside the ballot box which resulted in the damage to four ballots in the Pilkades of Pasirnangka. "Yes, that's right, at TPS 7 there was an incident and all the committee did not fully understand the cause, but now it is back to being conducive," he explained. According to him, the mysterious appearance of smoke from inside the ballot box that occurred at around 11.00 WIB was very fast. Then, the entire Pilkades committee can handle the incident by coordinating with all candidates for village heads. "The committee immediately took preventive steps by coordinating with witnesses to open ballot boxes to issue all incoming ballots," he said. He revealed that after the inspection process in the ballot box, the committee found that four letters that were damaged and burned were declared invalid, and all candidates had agreed that the four ballots were not valid. "Temporary assumptions, we don't know yet. Because it suddenly smokes out. This possibility is the impact of the weather or from cigarettes," he said. For this incident, he added, the implementation of the village head election in Tigaraksa continued to run safely and smoothly. "The vote count process continues and we, as well as the committee have made an agreement with the candidates who agree that this incident is a disaster. This does not damage the democratic order at TPS 7," he said.

The simultaneous Pilkades in Tangerang Regency will be held on September 24, 2023, in 13 sub-districts from 16 villages with 74 polling stations.