Jakarta – A former separatist rebel elected governor of the Indonesian province of Aceh on Thursday said he would not push for independence for the province while in power.

"Aceh remains committed to remain within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia," said Irwandi Yusuf, who won a landslide victory in last month's election, the first direct vote for provincial governor.

Yusuf was a former spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which fought a long and bloody campaign for independence for the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

After calling on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the palace here, he said both sides respected the peace agreement signed by rebel leaders and the Indonesian government in 2005.

Yusuf said he and president held a dialogue "on how to implement a government in Aceh within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia."

The governor-elect said he also briefed the president on policy packages he wanted to introduce in Aceh. "It turns out what we want to do was also in line with the president's instruction," he said.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told journalists at the same occasion that Yudhoyono had congratulated Yusuf and his vice governor Muhammad Nazar and called on them to implement good governance in Aceh.

Yusuf and Nazar won the December 11 elections with 38.20 percent of the vote while their nearest rivals trailed on 16.62 percent.

Yusuf was jailed in 2003 for rebellion and eventually fled when the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004, flooding his prison.

The giant waves killed more than 168,000 people in Aceh and compelled the rebels and the Indonesian government to reassess their priorities after decades of conflict.

The 2005 peace accord signed between the GAM and Jakarta paved the way for December 11 elections which are seen as a further consolidation of the peace process.