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Acehnese show enthusiasm in 21 elections across province
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People in Aceh gather outside a polling station on election day. The polls in Aceh proceeded peacefully amid concerns that there could be disturbances. JP/Hotli Simanjuntak (JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)
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ceh province, which hosted 21 elections, including a gubernatorial election, saw a smooth electoral process on Wednesday in which residents showed enthusiasm in exercising their voting rights.
“I arrived at the polling station early in the morning to vote. This is an event I wouldn’t miss,” said Muhaimah, a resident of Aceh Besar regency.
Muhaimah, who arrived at the station with her family, said they were all enthusiastic because they felt they had a say in determining their next leader and were contributing to improving the political economy of her regency.
“I hope we choose the right person,” she said.
Another voter in West Aceh regency, Roni Fadlianto, said he hoped the next leader of the regency was “well-mannered.”
“Because a well-mannered leader is a good example. That can be seen in a candidate who really pushes for sharia,” said Roni as quoted by Antara news agency.
He said the future leaders of West Aceh and Aceh province should be someone who did not intimidate people.
“A leader should be a good example for the people. Just look at the younger generation, members of which use drugs and have other vices. The first bulwark against that should be the government,” he added.
(Read also: Aceh elections must not be violent)
Law No. 11/2006 grants Aceh, known as the Veranda of Mecca, a special status in Indonesia, allowing the Aceh administration to uphold sharia.
The Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has placed Aceh at second place on the list of the most “vulnerable” regions with a score of 3.327, behind West Papua in first place with a score of 3.381. Banten is ranked third with 3.147, West Sulawesi at fourth with 2.367 and Jakarta at fifth with 2.297.
Concerns about security in Aceh were related to the fact that most of the candidates were from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Previous regional elections in Aceh saw incidents involving violence and intimidation implicating candidates.
“But this time, I feel everything has gone smoothly, no violence or conflicts,” said Muhaimah.
In the Aceh gubernatorial election, the six pairs contesting the position and four of the candidates were former GAM figures: Zaini Abdulah, Muzakir Mana, Irwandi Yusuf and Zakaria Saman.
Zaini was close in rank to the late Hasan Tiro, the leader of GAM, while Muzakir was a GAM commander. Zakaria is a former defense minister of GAM while Irwandi was an elite figure in GAM’s combatant unit during the height of conflict.
Associations for Election and Democracy (Perludem) recorded earlier that the 2016-2017 campaign period in Aceh had seen 26 incidents involving violence and vandalism. There was an incident in which a grenade was thrown.
“Regions with the most violent cases are East Aceh, North Aceh, and Pidie,” Perludem director Titi Anggraeni said.
Regional Leader Coordinating Forum (Forkopimda) reported the electoral process on Wednesday in Banda Aceh municipality and Aceh Besar regency was smooth.
Iskandar Muda Military Commander Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman said Wednesday that he had not received any reports of conflicts or riots, saying he observed enthusiastic voters at polling stations.
