Ridwan Max Sijabat and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – The European Union election monitoring mission is upbeat Aceh's first direct elections, scheduled for December, will proceed peacefully.
Glyn Ford and his eight-member entourage have been in Aceh since Oct. 31 meeting with officials, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla and staff from the Independent Aceh Election Commission (KIP). Ford said he had many reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming elections.
"Present day Achenese society is dramatically different from two years ago. Following the devastating tsunami in 2004 and the signing (on Aug. 15, 2005) of the peace pact, the security situation in Aceh has improved and all Acehnese have cooperated to make the local elections a success, in order to form a democratic government," he said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.
The elections to simultaneously elect a governor and 19 regents and mayors are the last chance to build peace and end the bloody 25-year conflict, said Ford, a British member of the European Parliament. "And it will be unlikely for Aceh to have another such opportunity in the next 25 years if the elections fail."
"The situation in Aceh has been conducive with the Acehnese people pinning their hopes for a better future (on the elections)," he said. However, he warned conflicts might arise after the elections.
Agung P., a researcher from Banda Aceh, expressed a more pessimistic view, saying violence might occur during the elections. One indication, he said, is that the KIP has yet to complete voter registration and other election preparations, but candidates have already been engaging in early campaigning, using pamphlets, banners and inflammatory speeches during the beginning of the recent fasting month.
A new survey conducted by the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) shows a majority of Acehnese fear violence during the elections because of the lack of information.
Ford said the European Union Election Observation Mission would work independently and report on any conflicts and violations in the field.
"We have 80 observers who will be deployed to all 21 regencies and municipalities, but we don't expect any conflicts to occur during the elections. Our main mission is to monitor the elections and to convince unsuccessful candidates that they lost in a fair, democratic process," he said.
Besides international observers from the EU, Japan and ASEAN, local election supervision agencies have been invited by the government and the KIP to monitor the elections.
KIP chairman Ikhwannusufa said in Banda Aceh the registration of foreign and domestic monitoring agencies opened Sept. 18 and would close Nov. 22. They are required to meet all administrative requirements and comply with all rules set down by officials.
"Before reporting to the official election monitoring committee, all observers are required to coordinate with the KIP if they find violations during any phase of the elections," he said.