Hotli Simnjuntak, Banda Aceh – More than 5,000 homeless tsunami victims, who have lived in barracks since the 2004 disaster, have threatened to boycott the upcoming presidential election.

They said they had no time to think about the general election as they have been stranded in the barracks located in Bakoy village, Aceh Besar, and in West Aceh for five years without any certainty for the future.

Maryani, a mother with several young children, said they had been repeatedly promised housing but the pledge remained unfulfilled, especially following the April 16 dissolution of Aceh-Nias rehabilitation and reconstruction agency (BRR).

"We have to bring this case to numerous sides, including NGOs and local authorities. No solutions have been given," she said.

The victims admitted they had lived in rented houses prior to the tsunami but were truly victims and that their belongings and documents had been devastated in the disaster.

Chairman of the Forum for Tsunami in West Aceh Edi Chandra said a total of 1569 families in the regency had yet to obtain housing and the local government had paid no attention to their poor condition. "We will not vote during the presidential election if the government declines to settle our problem."

Separately, Vice Governor Muhammad Nazar stressed all tsunami victims should have obtained new houses because the number of developed houses was more than that of the victims.

He said many locals had used the disaster to claim houses from the already dissolved BRR, which the government had appointed to build new housing and reconstruct damaged infrastructures in Aceh and Nias.

"Many victims have also obtained up to seven housing units as the distribution of the new houses was based on ownership documents." He pledged that the government would provide new houses for tsunami victims who had yet to obtain their own from the BRR.

Chairman of the Independent Election Commission (KIP) Akmal Abzal said despite the increase in the number of voters in the province, all tsunami victims had been registered as voters in the general election.

The 3.9 million voters will likely be divided between the SBY-Boediono and JK-Win presidential pairs.

President Susilo Bambang Yuhoyono is well-regarded by the Acehnese for his contribution to peace in Aceh. The Aceh Party has pledged support for his team.

The SIRA Party chaired by Muhammad Nazar has pledged its support for the JK-Win pair who were in the city to meet their supporters in the province.

Jusuf Kalla played an important role in the signing of the peace agreement between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the government in Helsinky on August 15, 2007, to end the three-decade bloody conflict.

Megawati and her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) were losing support in the province due to her government's decision to impose state emergency in 2003.