Aceh authorities cancel vote extension days

JAKARTA (JP): The local elections committee canceled several vote extension days in the troubled North Aceh regency for security reasons, Antara reported on Sunday.

The news agency quoted the local elections committee as saying that the poll extension was scheduled in the regency for June 19 and June 20.

"After considering the opinions of various parties, we agreed to cancel the vote extension because we believe it would only bring us harm," Burhanuddin, head of the North Aceh Elections Committee, was quoted as saying on Sunday.

An alliance of five independent election monitoring committees opposed on Saturday the National Election Committee's decision to hold the polls in Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh.

The government postponed the June 7 vote in the regencies of Aceh because of escalating tension between the military and separatists. The election law allows a postponement of up to 30 days.

Networks including the University Network for Free and Fair Elections (Unfrel) and the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) said in a joint statement on Saturday that it was impossible to hold free and safe polls in the regencies.

The news agency said the agreement was reached in a meeting between the local elections committee, members of the provincial elections committee and representatives of political parties campaigning in the regency.

Calls for a referendum on self-determination and an election boycott have been the strongest in North Aceh, East Aceh and Pidie.

Separatists have been accused by the military of intimidating residents to make them boycott the elections.

Violence has also been on the rise in the three regencies where more than 70 people, including 41 civilians, have been killed in attacks and counterattacks between the military and alleged members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement since May.

North Aceh, East Aceh and Pidie were the worst affected regencies in a decade of antirebel operations during which the military was accused of widespread human rights abuses.

Burhanuddin was also quoted as saying that elections were only able to be held in seven of 26 districts in North Aceh last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The districts were Banda Sakti, Syamtalira Bayu, Jeumpa, Merah Mulia, Baktia, Lhoksukon and Makmur.

Burhanuddin said, however, that the final vote results would only be announced on Monday.

He added that only 2 percent of the regency's 555,154 eligible voters went to the polls last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the news agency said political parties in the regency had agreed that the allocation of seats for the parties in the House of Representatives and local legislatures should be decided by the General Elections Commission and the National Elections Committee.

"Whatever it is, leaders of political parties in North Aceh will accept KPU's decision," Abdul Wahab Hasan, a representative of the National Mandate Party, was quoted as saying.

Aceh, with a population of 4,114,400 people, is entitled to 12 seats in the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, the local elections committee in Aceh Besar also canceled the extension of the polls in Seulimum and Lhong districts for security reasons.

Teuku Umar, head of the Aceh Besar Elections Committee, was quoted as saying by Antara that the decision was reached in a meeting between officials and political parties on Sunday.

Umar said residents had been intimidated by a group of unidentified people to boycott the elections in the last few days.

It also said only 334 of 1,226 registered voters in Lampana district went to the polls on June 7.

Thousands of Acehnese fled to school buildings and mosques in Pidie and North Aceh recently in fear of heavy military presence in their villages.

At least 1,200 riot troops were deployed to the province to safeguard the elections.

As of 10:55 the website of the central tallying center helping to issue provisional results showed that in Aceh the United Development Party (PPP) was leading with 94,431 votes of 23.4 percent votes counted. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) was in second place with 93,982 votes while the National Mandate Party (PAN) had 81,637 votes.

The much criticized Golkar Party still had fourth place with 49,621 votes, according to the Joint Media Operations Center which revealed seven districts already had results.

The website showing official results in Aceh from the General Elections Commission was still empty as of late Sunday.(byg/anr)