[Kabar-indonesia] 4 Articles on Aceh: Election, Violence & Observers; Printing

[Joyo at aol.com]

Concerns; Twofold Running Man

4 Tempo articles on Aceh:

- The Regional Election, Violence & Observers

- Local Printing Concerns

- The Twofold Running Man

- Lhokseumawe Election Committee Needs Operational Fund

Tempo Magazine 
No. 10/VII/Nov 07 - 13, 2006

Aceh Today

The Regional Election, Violence & Observers

WILL there be violence during the direct elections for
regional heads (Pilkada) in Aceh? Or will there be
quarreling after the elections take place? Many are saying
that the Aceh Pilkada will be peaceful and violence-free,
while many others are saying just the opposite. The results
of a survey conducted by the International Foundation for
Election Systems (IFES) indicate that a majority of the
public in Aceh (55 percent of the 1,233 respondents) are
worried that there will be violence during the regional
elections. This mainly has to do with the public’s lack of
information regarding this electoral event.

This research done by IFES, which covers the entire region
of Aceh except for the Regency of Simeluleu and the City of
Sabang, was conducted during September and October. Anxiety
over possible violence was found in all of the areas
researched. However, the highest levels of concerned
respondents were to be found in the regencies of Central
Aceh, Gayo Luwes and Southwest Aceh.

Glyn Ford, head of the European Union Election Observation
Mission (EU EOM) is optimistic that the Aceh Pilkada will
run smoothly, orderly, and safely, as the situation is
already conducive. Speaking in Jakarta last Thursday, Ford,
a member of the European Parliament from England, said that
the people of Aceh have high hopes that the election will
afford them a better future. Ford and eight members of the
EU observation team have been in Aceh since October for the
regional elections. This EU observation effort is being done
upon an official invitation from the Indonesian government
and the Independent Elections Commission (KIP) of Aceh.
There are a total of 80 EU observers who are going to be
stationed in 21 regencies and cities throughout Aceh in
order to observe political activities and elections. This
mission will work independently and will report on any
conflicts or cheating which take place in the field.

According to Ford, the Aceh Pilkada—which are all scheduled
to take place on December 11, including voting for pairs for
the office of governor and deputy governor, as well as for
pairs of 21 regents and mayors—will be more susceptible to
conflict after it is over. This is especially true for those
camps that do not win in the elections and cannot accept
their defeat. For this reason, Ford said that they are going
to try to convince losing candidates that they have lost in
a fair and proper democratic process.

Concerns over post-election conflict have also been voiced
by a network of observers called the Fair and Honest
Elections of Regional Heads in Aceh (Jurdil Aceh). According
to this group of local observers, the large number of Aceh
residents who have still not registered as voters will
heighten the possibility of post-election conflict.
According to Teuku Ardiansyah, a spokesman for Jurdil Aceh,
there are about 300,000 eligible voters who have not
registered, equal to 13.1 percent of the number of voters
already registered. There is concern that people who do not
exercise their voting rights will trigger conflict. For this
reason, it is hoped that KIP Aceh will quickly settle this
matter before the voter rolls are finalized. “Take advantage
of the remaining time before it is too late,” said Teuku
Ardiansyah last Friday.

Mahdi Syahbandir, Chairman of the KIP Aceh Voter
Registration Group, admitted that there are still
unregistered voters. KIP recognized the importance of
Jurdil’s findings. However, KIP is convinced that the data
has already changed. It should be mentioned that the Jurdil
survey was conducted from October 8-10. “The data keeps
growing. We expect that all voters will be able to use their
voting rights at the time of the regional head elections,”
said Mahdi. KIP Aceh is sure that voter registration can be
completed before the third week of November 2006.

The latest Interim Voter Roll (DPS) indicates that there are
2,555,939 voters in Aceh. This number will continue to be
revised until the registration deadline on November 8.

Regarding the issue of violence during the election,
Ikhwanussufa, head of the KIP Aceh Working Group for
Observation and Supervision, recognized the public’s
concern. However, according to him, the most troublesome
source of Pilkada problems is going to be found along the
east coast of Aceh. This region encompasses the Regency of
East Aceh, City of Langsa, Regency of Bireuen, City of Lhok
Seumawe, and the Regency of Pidie. “Many regional election
issues take place in those areas, including dissatisfaction
with potential candidates and unfinished voter
registration,” he said.

In their research, the IFES has mapped out four groups which
have the potential to trigger violence during the Pilkada.
These groups consist of: political party supporters, anti-
separatist groups, security forces, and former Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) fighters.

Of the groups suspected of possibly inciting election
violence, only GAM has given public comment. A day after the
IFES research findings were announced, GAM Central Council
Spokesman, Suadi Sulaiman Lawweung, declared that GAM was
calling on all elements of the public in Aceh to contribute
to making the Pilkada a huge success. According to Suadi,
GAM does not want the elections of regional heads in Aceh to
take place under the threat of violence. This is especially
true because all of the elections are taking place at the
same time across Aceh, including at the regency/city level.
For this reason, the people of Aceh need to safeguard the
elections, free from the intervention of any parties.
According to Suadi, GAM continues to support and work for
the success of the Pilkada. “GAM is one party which was
directly involved in signing the Helsinki MoU. So it is
quite impossible that GAM will thwart the Pilkada process,”
he said.

Suspicions that violence will take place during or after the
elections could turn out to be true or false. This also
applies to those groups who are suspected will create
problems and conflicts. In any case, cheating in the field
will be seen first-hand by regional head election observers
from home and abroad. In addition to the EU Observation
Mission and observers from Japan and ASEAN, a number of
local observation organizations have been officially invited
by the Indonesian government and KIP Aceh to witness the
regional elections.

As of the end of last week, four foreign observation
organizations had already registered at the Indonesian
Department of Foreign Affairs. These are: the EU Team led by
Glyn Ford, the Japanese Team, the Asian Network Free for
Election (ANFREL), and the International Republican
Institute (IRI).

According to KIP Aceh head Ikhwanussufa, registration for
foreign and local observation bodies has been open since
September 18 and will close on November 22. These groups are
required to meet all of the administrative conditions and to
adhere to all of the regulations outlined. For instance,
before reporting any kind of cheating in the field, they
must first coordinate with KIP Aceh.

Meanwhile, several foreign groups—including one from
Australia—have also stated their interest in becoming
observers in the Aceh Pilkada. According to acting Governor
of Aceh Mustafa Abubakar, the requests of these foreign
observation teams were discussed last Friday in a special
meeting involving officials from the Coordinating Ministry
for Political, Security & Legal Affairs, together with
provincial government leaders and KIP Aceh.

In this meeting, they discussed the entry procedures for
foreign observers of the Aceh Pilkada. Among them, foreign
observers must still go through immigration and report to
the Department of Foreign Affairs. After being checked and
meeting all of the stipulated conditions, the foreign
observers will then be issued special visas and given
official identity cards. According to the Governor, the
government has not made it difficult for foreign observers
to go to Aceh to take part in the Pilkada, “As long as they
comply with all of the standards and special procedures,” he
said.

So far, 108 foreign observers have registered with the
Department of Foreign Affairs. There are 80 from the EU,
eight from Japan, 10 from IRI and 10 from ANFREL. The ANFREL
observers are from South Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh.

In addition to this, KIP Aceh is also coordinating with the
Department of Home Affairs in connection with the
instructions and technical guidelines for foreign observers
in Aceh. The result will take the form of a Joint Decree
(SKB) of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of
Home Affairs, which will be used to set the process for
authorizing foreign observers in Aceh.
Meanwhile, up until the submission deadline, nine future
pairs of candidates for Governor of Aceh had met the basic
eligibility conditions for running in the election. KIP Aceh
is currently checking the completeness of their documents.
These nine pairs of candidates consist of five pairs
supported by political parties, and four pairs of
independent candidates. The pairs of running mates from
political parties include: Malik Raden-Sayed Fuad, who are
supported by the Golkar, PDI-P, PKPI, and Democrat parties;
the pair of Iskandar Hoesein-M. Saleh Manaf, who are
supported by the PBB, PDK, PNI Marhaenisme, and PPD parties;
the pair of Humam Hamid and Hasbi Abdullah supported by PPP;
the pair of Tamlicha Aki-Harmen Nuriqmar who are running
under PBR and PKB; and the pair of Azwar Abubakar and Nasir
Djamil, who are supported by PAN and PKA.

The four independent pairs are: Irwandi Yusuf-M Nazar, Djali
Yusuf-Syauqas Rahmatilaah, Ghazali Abbas-Shalahuddin Al
Fata, and Azwir-Ramidin.

Farida Sendjaja

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Tempo Magazine 
No. 10/VII/Nov 07 - 13, 2006

Aceh Today

Local Printing Concerns

THE results of prequalification for logistics procurement
for the Aceh regional government heads election (Pilkada)
were announced by the Independent Elections Commission (KIP)
last week. Of the 58 companies applying for the logistics
procurement, only 25 companies passed the qualification upon
screening and were thus considered acceptable. Therefore,
some circles, particularly the local printing houses,
expressed a public outcry, because none of the local
printing houses were viewed as meeting the prequalification
standards as set by the committee in the procurement of
ballots and voter cards—a project with the highest value.

The reason for not meeting the prequalification standards
angered many people in Aceh. Local entrepreneurs were
disappointed with KIP’s decision that was viewed as denying
the existence and the capability of Aceh’s local printing
houses.

The prequalification announcement gave an opportunity to
large printing houses from outside Aceh. Local printing
houses were not given the chance to participate in the
project. In other words, local businessmen were given only
the share of small-value packages.

Naturally, some circles put forward the accusation that
there was collusion between Aceh’s KIP and companies from
outside Aceh, specifically printing houses in Jakarta.
Moreover, Government Regulation No. 6/2005 concerning the
election, ratification, appointment and dismissal of
regional heads and their deputies under Article 72, section
2, stipulates that ballots are to be procured in the
electorate by prioritizing printing capacity in accordance
with the need for ballots with quality printing.
Adhering to that government regulation, local printing
houses strongly protested KIP’s decision. Many expected KIP
to review its decision, and allow access to local
entrepreneurs for participation and creative work to make a
success of the Pilkada. In fact, in an activity from and for
the public, regional resources should be utilized and
empowered as optimally as possible. The Elections Commission
should have understood the conditions of the Aceh people who
have thus far been subjected to much disappointment.

In addition, KIP requires printing houses to possess
security paper, whereas even Government Regulation No.
6/2005, Article 73, sections 1, 2 and 3 does not state the
requirement for security paper. The condition only
stipulates that while the ballot printing is underway, the
company concerned is required to print ballot papers in the
numbers set by the Regional General Elections Commission
(KPUD)/KIP and that it is required to guard the
confidentiality, security and safety of the ballots.

Accusations of prejudices and collusion against KIP were
denied by the head of the Aceh KIP Logistics Procurement
Committee, M. Yusuf Husin. “Based on various considerations,
the Committee decided that only the companies outside of
Aceh were felt capable of printing ballots and voter cards
for the Aceh Pilkada,” Husin said last week. Because, based
on the results of the prequalification of a number of local
companies, none of the local companies were judged as being
capable of handling the project.

Apparently KIP had been extra careful in handling the
procurement and printing of ballots. KIP planned to have
2,635,625 ballots printed for 2,553,000 voters and 2.5
percent spare ballots. Voters throughout Aceh total
2,555,939. This number continued to be updated until the
November 8 deadline for voter registration. The ballots will
be printed by one printing house. It seems that KIP did not
want to take risks. “This is not a matter of sharing money,
but this is a political project that must be successful,”
said Aceh KIP Chairman M. Jafar last week.

Out of the 25 companies screened for qualification, KIP’s
logistics procurement committee accepted 10 printing houses,
three of which are from Aceh. Jafar said that KIP did not
interfere with logistic procurement, since everything was
fully left to the procurement committee.

It is likely the Aceh KIP did the right thing in its
decision. If foul play did indeed occur, it will eventually
be revealed. Moreover, the people are now becoming
increasingly critical, and the Aceh Pilkada process will be
monitored by a great many people, including the
international world.

Farida Sendjaja

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Tempo Magazine 
No. 10/VII/Nov 07 - 13, 2006

Aceh Today

The Twofold Running Man
THE run-up to direct elections in Aceh for regional heads
(Pilkada) is getting interesting, especially the election
for governor. One potential candidate for the gubernatorial
election has recently attracted much attention, as he had
previously nominated himself in a regency election.

Drs. Azwir Msi, a potential candidate for Regent of North
Aceh, last week entered the ring as a candidate for Governor
of Nanggoe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), taking the place of
Mediati Hafni Hanum, his wife. Mediati failed to be accepted
as a candidate for governor because she did not pass the
Qur’an recital test. Azwin is running with Ramidin Syukur,
who was Mediati’s running mate.

This dual nomination—perhaps the first in Indonesian
election history—is indeed possible because there is no rule
which forbids someone being nominated as a potential
candidate for two regions. Azwir, a lecturer of the
Mathematics Faculty (MIPA) at the University of Syah Kuala,
Banda Aceh, a prospective candidate for the Regent of North
Aceh, is running for office with Abdul Manaf.

According to Rasyidin Hanim SE, head of the KIP Verification
Working Group of NAD, the Aceh Independent Election
Commission (KIP) has opened the opportunity for Azwir as
well as for all other candidates to be nominated, by
requiring them to meet all of the conditions set by the KIP.
“As long as there is no law which is broken and they meet
KIP’s conditions, we accept the registration of all pairs of
potential candidates,” said Hanim, on Tuesday of last week.

Azwir has already completed the documents needed for
elections at both the provincial and regency levels,
according to the conditions set by the KIP. These folders,
according to Hanim, are currently being verified by the KIP.

The Acehnese public seems divided over Azwir’s dual
nomination. Some feel that it is unethical and improper.
However, others do not have a problem with it. For those who
disagree, Azwir’s dual candidacy appears to take advantage
of a legal loophole. “Some things which are not against the
law are still socially unacceptable,” said one dissenter.

But how good is Azwir’s chance to become a candidate for
Governor of Aceh? The problem is, the time remaining for
verification is very short, and there is not enough time to
amend any administrative shortcomings. The period for coming
into full compliance began on September 23, and the
announcement naming the acceptable candidates is to be on
November 6. It is being said that the documents for Azwir’s
nomination for governor are still incomplete. For this
reason, some circles have said that he has little chance of
becoming an official candidate for governor.

At the regency level, Azwir is registered as a potential
candidate for the election of Regent of North Aceh. Azwir,
together with three other pairs of running mates of
potential candidates for Regent of North Aceh, still has a
chance to be eligible as an election candidate for regent.

Muhammad SE AK, KIP head for the North Aceh regency, said
that Azwir’s chances are good at both the regency and
province levels, like a fisherman casting two lines into a
river. “The KIP could conclude that one or both are
invalid,” said Muhammad.
In any case, Azwir’s dual candidacy has alerted many to the
fact that there are still gaps in the Law of the Government
of Aceh (UU PA), which must be explained in “qanun” or laws
of Aceh. For this reason, Rasyidin Hanim, head of the Aceh
KIP Verification Working Group, has asked the Aceh Regional
House of Representatives (DPRD) to make a new law so that
more serious problems can be avoided in the future. “To
anticipate legal loopholes in the future, it is hoped that
the DPRD will formulate a new qanun,” he said.

Farida Sendjaja

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Tempo Magazine 
No. 10/VII/Nov 07 - 13, 2006

Aceh Today

Lhokseumawe Election Committee Needs Operational Fund

THE Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslih) of
Lhokseumawe claims that it has not yet been allocated any
operational funds to control the regional heads election
(Pilkada) due to take place on December 11, because the city
administration and council of Lhokseumawe had not yet
discussed the amended regional budget (APBD-P) for 2006.

In fact, the Pilkada is already in sight. “We’re urging the
Lhokseumawe city council to deal with APBD-P, without which
the Panwaslih will not be able to operate,” said Chairman of
the Lhokseumawe Panwaslih, Syahrial, last Thursday, November
2.

He said that in order to perform the Pilkada supervisory
duty, his committee needed an allocation of Rp1.9 billion,
while it had so far been only given a loan worth Rp60
million.

Syahrial also described the city Panwaslih’s performance as
less than optimal because there had been no equipment and
supporting facilities from the government yet. Moreover,
after the nomination of candidates for mayoral positions,
Panwaslih will be engaged in fieldwork with the assistance
of district committees.

Banda Aceh City Expansion to be Approved

THE expansion plan for Banda Aceh which has been discussed
for some time will soon be approved by the city
administration of Banda Aceh and the regency administration
of Greater Aceh. The plan will be brought to the plenary
session of the city council and Jantho council shortly. The
document of consensus between both sides and the Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam regional administration’s go-ahead will be
delivered to the Minister of Home Affairs for endorsement.

The Banda Aceh expansion is becoming increasingly urgent in
line with the growth of the city eastward, northward and
southward. In the post-tsunami period, most city residents
choose to live on the outskirts a long distance from the
sea.

If the expansion plan is implemented at the start of 2007,
the land for various public spaces is already available. So
far, the city’s unsolved problem has been the shortage of
land to serve public interests. Consequently, many long-term
schemes have always failed to materialize.

PROFILE OF THE WEEK

INTERNEWS

UPLIFT International was founded by Mark Schlansky in 1997
to promote corporate social responsibility to develop
capacity building and sustainable health programs that
contribute to economic development in developing countries.

Uplift International expanded its scope of work with
additional humanitarian and medical assistance projects in
Vietnam, and during the depths of the Asian economic crisis
in 1998 expanded its programs to Indonesia. Schlansky knew
that emergency humanitarian aid, including donations of
much-needed medical commodities, were critical to disaster-
affected populations. He also knew that over the long term
it was necessary to create more sustainable, capacity-
building programs to improve the health and economic well-
being of developing countries, such as Vietnam and
Indonesia.

The mission of Uplift International is to improve the well-
being of the world’s most vulnerable populations by
promoting the universal human right to health through
education, advocacy, and humanitarian efforts. Uplift
International “views health through a human rights lens and
human rights through a health lens.”

Building on the relationships developed during the
humanitarian airlifts of medicines to Vietnam and Indonesia,
Uplift International continues to develop stronger and more
collaborations with universities, governments, professional
organizations, NGOs and the business community. These
collaborations bring much needed technical experience in the
areas of maternal and child health, health and human rights,
medical and public health education, including telemedicine.

When the tsunami 2004 hit Aceh and other areas in North
Sumatra, Uplift International provided humanitarian
assistance to aid those impacted by the devastation. In
partnership with Project Hope, Uplift International has
already provided 25 tons of medicine and medical supplies,
valued at US$7 million. The supplies include medicines and
medical supplies that are urgently needed in natural
disaster situations.

Uplift International worked with its long-time partner in
Indonesia, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), to send
teams of Indonesians doctors, nurses, paramedics and other
health professionals to care for the survivors. The effort
accomplished are the provision of 25 tons of medicines and
medical supplies, placement of 320 Indonesians doctors and
other health professionals to staff medical clinics in 15
camps for displaced persons, treatment of over 19,000
patients, and rebuilding of research library, computer
center and classrooms of Syiah Kuala University Medical
School.

For the future, Uplift International is planning
appropriate, essential, and coordinated follow-on and long-
term capacity-building health initiatives with IDI. Uplift
International has been actively working in Indonesia since
1998 and is committed to working in partnership with local
organizations well into the future.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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