Toraja Utara (North Toraja) is having elections for bupati (similar to county executive) this coming Thursday. Since Toraja Utara just split from Tana Toraja in the past few years, this will be the first election for bupati. The lead-up to the election is quite exciting. There are 7 candidates, and each roams around the region with a huge entourage of cars (usually SUVs or trucks that can handle rocky roads) or motorcycles, with everyone wearing campaign shirts, and with bigger vehicles blasting or playing music to attract attention. Sometimes a campaign stops on the side of the road in town so that the candidate can stump for a while. There are signs for the candidates everywhere. My students, even, are quite excited for the election, and each has a preferred candidate. My principal, incidentally, prefers candidate 1 (each candidate is numbered), since that candidate is his brother in law.
Anyway, while the elections are quite exciting, I will try to skip town next weekend. Apparently last election (in the joined Toraja, containing Toraja Utara and Tana Toraja), 3 people died in the post election riots. Also, apparently Makale (the capital of the joined Toraja and now of Tana Toraja) is much more tame than Toraja Utara. I don't want to die, so I will either skip town or stay in the school compound. Being barricaded in a compound for several days sounds rather boring though, so I would like to skip town.
Because of the tensions the election raise, the police are out in force. I even saw
one of these last weekend.
From http://www.primeportal.net/apc/shchang/barracuda_4x4_apc_walk_1.htm.
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