[Kabar-indonesia] EU begins monitoring work ahead of Aceh elections

[Joyo at aol.com]

EU begins monitoring work ahead of Aceh elections

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, October 31 (AFP) -- An eight-person
team from the European Union has begun monitoring work ahead
of elections in Indonesia's Aceh province, the head of the
monitoring mission said Tuesday.

The head of the EU Election Observation Mission, Glyn Ford,
told AFP that 36 more members would be arriving in just over
a week and another 36 would bolster their numbers shortly
ahead of polling day, set for December 11.

Under a peace pact signed between separatist rebels and the
Jakarta government, Aceh will for the first time directly
elect its governor and vice-governor, as well as district
leaders in the polls.

Ford said that the 80 EU monitors will be helped by hundreds
of local staffers, bringing the team numbers up to 300.

He said that the team planned to open up to 12 offices
across Aceh to comprehensively monitor the elections. The
peace pact stipulated the presence of foreign observers.

The pact was spurred on by the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami, which lashed Aceh's coastlines killing some 168,000
people and forced both sides to reassess their priorities at
the negotiating table.

Ford added that the assessment of polls should be available
at the latest 10 days after election day.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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