Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The central government brushed off worries Tuesday about the likely victory of a former rebel leader in the landmark Aceh gubernatorial election, saying whoever won would deserve the top post in the provincial administration.
It called on all sides to keep monitoring the vote counting in Aceh, however, after the Monday elections that cemented an end to almost three decades of armed conflict between government troops and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned that ballots were still being counted and called on the public be alert to possible vote-rigging, said the president's expert staff member for local autonomy, Heru Lelono, on Tuesday.
He said whoever won the election was a participant in democracy in Indonesia, and that much work awaited the new governor.
"Worrying that a former GAM leader is ahead in the vote is excessive. What's important for the President is the elections ran smoothly and transparently. The President believes everyone will support whoever the winner is," said Heru.
In Yogyakarta, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said GAM no longer existed, and that the possible victory of one of its members would not lead to Aceh's separation from Indonesia.
"All candidates are state citizens and we have all agreed to carry out the elections democratically," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
Similar comments came from Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshall Djoko Suyanto and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono. They cited the Aceh peace agreement's specification that Aceh will remain within the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.
The peace pact was signed in Helsinki, Finland, in August last year by Jakarta and GAM to resolve a longstanding separatist conflict and give Aceh greater autonomy.
A quick count by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), which has produced accurate quick counts in several elections in other regions, showed former GAM leader Irwandi Yusuf and his running mate, Muhammad Nazar, winning the gubernatorial election by a landslide.
Coming in second were former GAM leaders Humam Hamid and Hasbi Abdullah. Both pairs of candidate ran as independents. GAM did not endorse a candidate, following an internal split.
Aceh is the first and so far only province in Indonesia where independent candidates are allowed to run for office.
The quick count results were a slap in the face to major political parties based in Jakarta, which analysts said was a mark of Acehnese disdain for what those parties and the central government had done there in the past.
LSI director Denny JA said Irwandi's lead could not have been predicted because he was an unpopular figure in Aceh. He cited funding and marketing as two contributing factors in his apparent success.
Irwandi and Nazar, he said, had sported traditional Acehnese outfits on the campaign trail and in their pictures on the ballots.
Analysts have alleged that the central government was fully aware that the Acehnese would favor GAM figures, and might have approached GAM candidates to ensure Aceh would remain under Jakarta's control.
Irwandi is a relatively new figure in the GAM circle and was GAM's spokesperson during the talks leading to the peace accord. He often came to Jakarta during the first rounds of the peace deal to meet with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.