Banda Aceh – All eight pairs of candidates for the governorship and vice-governorship of Aceh on Tuesday vowed to work for peaceful elections in December.

The candidates signed a pledge to safeguard peace in Aceh during a ceremony attended by current Aceh governor Mustafa Abubakar, head of the Aceh police, Bahrumsyah Kasman, and various other officials and activists.

Candidates in Aceh are required to run in pairs – for governor and vice-governor – in the December 11 elections.

In the pledge, the candidates vowed "to take part in the elections in a spirit of brotherhood, upholding honesty, refraining (from) provocative actions that may disturb peace, and abide by all prevailing laws and regulations".

Abubakar later told the ceremony that the pledge was held at the initiative of the Aceh police chief together with several other public and civil leaders.

Kasman said such a move was deemed necessary as tension and friction had already surfaced between the supporters of the various candidates.

"We hope that with this agreement, the candidate for the governor and vice-governorship will remain committed to compete in an honest way, prioritizing peace in Aceh, when running in the electoral arena," Kasman said.

He added that the pledge, although morally binding, carried no legal sanctions. "What is more important is that they have agreed to safeguard peace in Aceh, because that is what all Acehnese want," the police chief said.

The elections in Aceh are the first ever to directly elect the province's two top positions, in the past filled by appointments from Jakarta. It is also the first time that independent candidates, without backing from political parties, have been allowed to run for election in Indonesia.

The elections are part of a historic agreement reached in August last year between the government and the Free Aceh Movement, which ended some 30 years of conflict.

Of the eight pairs of candidates, five are backed by political parties while three are running independently.