Ati Nurbaiti, Banda Aceh – On the eve of polling day on Dec. 11, Mutia says she will perform special prayers to ask God who to vote for. "I will perform the istiqoroh prayer to make my decision," she said Wednesday, while attending a rally held by a gubernatorial candidate.
Mutia has narrowed her vote down to three candidate pairs from the eight contesting Aceh's gubernatorial elections but says she still has no idea who to vote for.
While two candidates in the province's direct elections were inexperienced, "there is no way we should continue to trust old names" in government, she said.
Shielding herself from the sun with a piece of cardboard, the Banda Aceh local has regularly attended the campaigns of three candidate pairs with her husband, watching speeches by Irwandi Yusuf of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and activist Muhammad Nezar, activist Humam Hamid and GAM member Hasbi Abdullah, and former member of the People's Consultative Assembly, Gazali Abas Adnan and running mate businessman Salahudin Alfata.
While the turnout for Banten's gubernatorial elections was low, Aceh's historic polls are attracting a lot of interest, although many voters have admitted they know little about the candidates and their programs.
A November survey by the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) released Tuesday found 70 percent of people said they planned to vote in the polls, up from 56 percent in September.
"Whoever wins, we hope that they can bring peace to Aceh for our children and grandchildren," said another spectator in the crowd, businessman Muhammad Ali. "I have seen all the hard times," he said.
The last time Ali attended such a large gathering was in 1999 in a demonstration for a referendum on Aceh's separation from Indonesia.
A 10-year military operation to crush GAM ended in 1999 after a truce was signed by the separatists and the government. However, the peace did not last and a further military operation and the declaration of martial law took place from 2000 to 2004.
A peace agreement was signed in Helsinki last August after the devastating tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004.
Voting for the regents, mayors and the governor on Dec. 11 is part of the province's "struggle towards peace," Ali said. The intense desire for calm, had led to an agreement "to accept whoever wins".
Mutia said despite the landmark Helsinki agreement, she was worried that violence would recur in the province given the rivalry between GAM candidates Irwandi and Humam. While the GAM leadership is staying officially neutral during the polls, individual officials have expressed support for the two contestants.
A taxi driver and former GAM fighter said he was voting for Irwandi and running mate Nezar. Nezar who headed the Information Center for an Acehnese Referendum (SIRA) led huge waves of demonstrations in the province for a referendum in 1999.
The driver, also named Muhammad Ali, said he wanted to vote for "someone new". If the new governor and deputy were found to be wanting, "we can just push them out again, through demonstrations for instance", he said.
"We need anyone who can bring about a just government.. under which we can earn a living," Ali said. "Then I could travel again, to Bangkok and Myanmar" the places where he once bought arms for GAM, he said.