REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUPANG -- The police in West Manggarai district, East Nusa Tenggara province, have arrested 28 people on charges of vandalizing an office of the sub-district head and setting fire to ballot boxes last Friday night.

None of them had been named suspects in the case, spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara provincial police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Jules Abraham Abbas said here on Tuesday.

"We are still on the lookout for other people suspected of being involved in the incident," he remarked.

He noted that the residents who had been arrested came from several villages in Ndoso sub-district, West Manggarai district.

Head of Ndoso village, identified by the initials AS, and a member of the district head candidate's campaign team, known by the initials SB, are believed to have masterminded last Friday's incident.

The incident took place after supporters of the West Manggarai district head candidate Maksi Gaza and his running mate, Abdul Aziz, urged the Ndoso sub-district election committee to stop the vote counting process, arguing that it violated the standing procedure. However, the election committee rejected their request.

Abbas believed that the culprits were supporters of the district head-vice district head candidate pair who had lost in the December 9 regional head election.

Simultaneous regional head elections were held in more than 260 regions in Indonesia on December 9.

If found guilty, the culprits may face up to seven years' imprisonment.

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