Armed criminal groups attacked Indonesian election organisers and security forces in Alama district, Papua province, on 18 April.

Residents lined up to vote at Timika Jaya Village, Mimika, Papua on 17 April (Photo: ANTARA)

It is unclear if the attack resulted in any casualties.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Pio Nainggolan, the gunshot took place in early morning and was allegedly directed at personnel tasked with securing the election in the district. The local security force fired back, while two army helicopters were used to evacuate the attacked groups.

A total of 28 election organisers, police officers and logistic staff were transferred to a safe location, he said.

The evacuation was carried out simultaneously with work to protect the C1 Plano document, which contains the district’s results. The document is now kept by Mimika Regional Police for submission to the Indonesia's election commission (KPU). Other documents were still trapped in Alama.

Indonesia opened the polls to more than 192 million eligible voters on 17 April in one of the world's biggest single-day elections. For the first time, the country held its presidential and legislative elections on the same day, with more than 245,000 candidates running for more than 20,000 seats.

Initial results showed that Incumbent Indonesian President Joko Widodo is leading the April 17 presidential election by 10% over his rival Prabowo Subianto. 

(Source: VNA)