Govt to announce N. Maluku governor vote winner soon

Ridwan Max Sijabat ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 05/15/2008 12:20 PM  |  The Archipelago

The government will announce the winner of the troubled gubernatorial election in North Maluku later this month, a minister said Wednesday.

Speaking after meeting with incumbent Governor Thaib Armayin and rival Abdul Gafur in Jakarta, Home Minister Mardiyanto said the improved security situation in the province meant the government's decision, taken in light of political, legal and administrative factors, would be made soon.

"The decision will be made within the month, so the post-election conflict can finally end and the province can have a new governor who can bring the different political groups together and continue with development programs," he said.

Mardiyanto said the government would instruct the Indonesian Military and National Police to ensure the declaration of the winner would not create further unrest in the province.

"The government's authority is based on a meeting of all rival parties, councillors, informal and religious leaders and security authorities in Ternate's Babula airport on April 18, 2008. All agreed the government should determine the winner of the election," he said.

"The conditions at the grassroots level are encouraging and both rival candidates have promised to accept the government's decision. There should be no more problems in maintaining a democratic government in the province," he said.

Rallies in Ternate turned violent when scuffles between the two rival parties and security personnel broke out following the General Election Commission's (KPU) failure to declare a winner in the October 2007 poll.

The KPU's provincial chapter was rocked by allegations of vote rigging in three subdistricts, and its vote counting was later annulled by the Supreme Court. The 35-member provincial legislative council was also divided over the election results.

Both Gafur, nominated by the Golkar Party, and Thaib, nominated by a coalition which includes President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party, claimed victory in the election.

Mardiyanto said it was important to quell the violence wracking the province. He said the government would not rush to make the announcement until the security issue had been resolved.

He was referring to sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians which rocked the province between 2000 and 2002 and which claimed thousands of lives.

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