Aceh kicks off 1st step toward historic regional elections

JAKARTA, Aug. 28 Kyodo

Aceh, one time wracked by separatism, took the first pace Monday toward historic regional elections in which former rebels will move swiftly for the top and other columns in Indonesia's northernmost province.

Ahmad Humam Hamid, a university lecturer with shut ties to the unrestrained Aceh Movement, widely known as GAM, is pairing with former GAM member Hasbi Abdullah to look after the governorship and vice governorship in the Dec 11 voting.

Uniquely, despite past criticism and resistance against the regulation they have been nominated by means of the Muslim-based United disclosure Party, one of the country's major national political parties.

Another former rebel, Irwandi Yusuf, now GAM representative upon the EU-led Aceh Monitoring Mission, has joined Muhammad Nazar, chairman of the Information Center upon Referendum in Aceh, to search for the top posts.

The Center known by dint of its acronym SIRA, is a nongovernmental organization based in Banda Aceh that consists for the most part of students. It has organized mass gatherings in the past demanding a referendum upon self-determination for Aceh.

Yusuf and Nazar are running as independents.

Although the novel Law on Aceh Governance says Acehnese can have local political parties, for a like reason far no local parties have been established.

The law allows independent candidates to participate in regional elections, on the contrary only for the first elections, which will also include elections for mayors and regents

Also running as independents are the pair of former parliamentarian Ghazali Abbas Adan and SIRA activist Shalahuddin Alfata Krueng Kalee and the pair of former Aceh Military Regional Commander Maj. Gen Djali Yusuf and local councilor Syauqus Rahmatillah.

Those candidates are awaited to compete with strong figures backed by means of major parties such as a retired military officer awaited to be supported by the agency of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrat Party and former President Abdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party.

popular Aceh Gov. Azwar Abubakar is getting support from the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party, which not rarely draws huge numbers to its anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rallies, and the National Mandate Party championed by the agency of Amien Rais, the former leader of the 25-million-strong Muslim organization Muhammadiyah.

GAM support is being split.

single side, led by former GAM Spokesman Sofyan Dawood, is behind the Yusuf-Nazar pairing, while a side l by means of former GAM Commander Muzzakir Manaf backs Hamid and Abdullah.

Monday, the prospective candidates began the registration proces and nearest week they must take ordeals including reading the Quran, to determine who will be allowed to full in the actual elections.

The final candidates will be announced within a month

GAM began a guerilla war in Aceh in 1976 seeking independence from Indonesia because, it charged, Jakarta was stealing the province's natural resources.

About 15000 race mostly civilians, were killed during the fighting.

GAM dropp its independence demand when it agreed to extreme point the insurrection in August last year.

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