‘Aceh voting problems unacceptable’

By Protus Tanuhandaru

BANDA ACEH, The Point

(December 11, 2006) A former Free Aceh Movement rebel had labeled the central government as incompetent in its handling of today’s historic gubernatorial election in Aceh with an estimated 10 percent of the voting public being deprived of the right to vote.

Irwandi Jusuf said the government was “incompetent” as not only had it failed to disseminate information about the election process to many Acehnese, including many who would be voting for the first time, but had registered others, including GAM members.

“Deliberate or not, this is unacceptable,” said Jusuf, adding “if we want a lasting peace, we had better not deprive people of their right to vote.”

An estimated 9% to 13% of eligible voters do not appear on the Independent Election Commission (KIP) registration or do not have the required voting documentation.

Asked by The Point whether voters would know what to do on election day, KIP deputy chief Naimah Hasan said, “we have done everything to raise the awareness of people to vote, but it seems out public announcements did not reach some of the voters, thereby meaning some people will not appear on election day.”

Jusuf rejected her argument. Another issue concerning voters was the possibility that money politics, common throughout other parts of Indonesia, could influence voters moments before they cast their ballots.

Anticipating money politics, Jusuf said former rebels and supporters of candidates who themselves were former rebels would patrol key areas and would be alert to any such practices. He said they had already discovered such people attempting to swing constituents’ voting decisions.

Asked what he did to those people, he told The Point on Sunday that, “We just fended them off—we gave them warning but we let them go.”

On Sunday night, he said his people would continue to do the same thing on Monday, namely prevent the big political parties from buying votes.

Akhiruddin Mahjuddin, a candidate running for a deputy mayoral position, said the NGO he had been running, Gerak Aceh, would investigate the use of funds during the electoral campaign.

Gerak Aceh has been investigating corruption related to reconstruction and rehabilitation in post-tsunami Aceh.

Regardless of money politics, some analysts have predicted that as none of the candidates will win comprehensively the vote for the governor would be forced into a runoff in March.

“If all contenders are on a par, there will be a second round,” said Glyn Ford, the chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission.

Ford refused to elaborate on which party he believed was likely to win, as he said the mission must remain impartial.

However, if voting in the presidential elections in 2004 was any indication, Golkar must remain the favored party.

Marcus Mietzner, a Jakarta-based political analyst, said that with eight pairs candidates vying for the positions of governor of Aceh and his deputy, there was a possibility of not having a winner in the first round, implying that there would be a runoff. He was interviewed by the Associated Press.

The possibility of a runoff is viable, as some voters could accidentally vote for a candidate they are not familiar with, or will not vote at all because they don’t know how to vote or when and where.

Although the results of the elections would not be announced until early January, weeks after of election day, some are already concerned that the threat of violence is increasing in some parts of the troubled province. The EU mission however remains positive about the outcome.

More than 10,000 police officers have been deployed to safeguard 8,000 polling stations.

Asked whether any potential conflict existed, Aceh’s top cop Bahrumsyah told The Point that “all candidates had reached a consensus not to create conflict.”