Tanja Vestergaard – The elections constitute the culmination of the peace process initiated in 2005 between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government, following a drawn-out separatist struggle

Jakarta – Elections in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province have swept a former rebel leader to victory, unofficial results show as officials tot up the ballots.

The polls, consolidating a peace accord after nearly three decades of war, were hailed by UN chief Kofi Annan as "historic" and by the European Union.

Nani Afrida and Ati Nurbaiti, Banda Aceh – Former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Irwandi Yusuf is leading with over 39 percent in unofficial results from the landmark gubernatorial election in Aceh.

Robin McDowell, Banda Aceh – A former rebel leader appeared headed to easy victory Monday in the first elections in Aceh province since the government and the separatists signed a peace deal in the tsunami-ravaged region last year, according to a sampling of votes tallied by two respected local pollsters.

Ian Timberlake, Banda Aceh – Former separatist rebels have no alternative but to follow the political path after laying down their weapons, a key candidate backed by ex-combatants has said ahead of elections in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province.

Activists say sharia law bodes ill for their rights as province today elects governor, writes Fabio Scarpello

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh - Around 100 Aceh activist held a demonstration in front of the Aceh Independent Election Commission (KIP) offices on Monday December 10.

Aside from commemorating International Human Rights Day that falls today, they also called on the government to solve past cases of human rights crimes and violations in Aceh.

Achmad Sukarsono, Meunasah Bak'you – Teungku Sobirin lost his seven children and home to the tsunami that devastated Indonesia's Aceh province two years ago, but he believes there was a lesson in it for the war-weary province.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The end of the Truth and Reconciliation (KKR) law raises further questions about the government's commitment to the human rights section of the Aceh peace agreement signed in Helsinki last year.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Aceh was like a wild horse in need of a brave jockey to tame it, the former rebel leader making a strong run for governor in the Indonesian province's first democratic elections said yesterday.

Amy Chew, Banda Aceh – He was convicted of treason and imprisoned at the Keudah Prison in the provincial capital here in 2003.

When the epic tsunami struck on Dec 26, 2004, it swept away the prison walls in a massive torrent and Irwandi suddenly found himself a free man. "The tsunami came, the jail went away and I went home," he laughed.

Dayah Tanoh – Before last year's peace deal, Cek Bi used to lie awake at night listening to gunfire rattling through her village. Now, the 40-year-old widow hopes Monday's elections will make the government-rebel truce in Indonesia's Aceh province irreversible.

Ati Nurbaiti, Banda Aceh – On the eve of polling day on Dec. 11, Mutia says she will perform special prayers to ask God who to vote for. "I will perform the istiqoroh prayer to make my decision," she said Wednesday, while attending a rally held by a gubernatorial candidate.

Banda Aceh – Thousands of people flocked to final election rallies on the last day of campaigning for landmark polls in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Former rebels in Aceh will form a political party within six months, opening up the way for their participation in the 2009 national elections, officials said Saturday.

Jerry Norton, Banda Aceh – Indonesia will soon set the ball rolling to allow former rebels in Aceh to establish a political party and join the mainstream in the once volatile province, a top peace monitor said on Saturday.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Dozens of people claiming to be victims of the conflict in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam rallied in front of the Independent Commission for Elections in Banda Aceh on Thursday, threatening to boycott the upcoming regional elections.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Students and teachers can still remember the moment they had to immediately remove their chairs and desks from their school, the No. 99 Neusu Elementary School in Banda Aceh, which was to be demolished by heavy machinery for reconstruction the next day.

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Banda Aceh – A second electoral worker has been abducted since the start last weekend of campaigning for milestone elections in Indonesia's Aceh province, police said Wednesday.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Infighting ahead of the coming landmark Dec. 11 elections in Aceh has hurt the rebel group that stopped its fight to split the province from Indonesia to instead pursue peace, a top think-tank said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Local elections in Indonesia's Aceh province pose a challenge for former separatist rebels in their transformation from an armed insurgency into a political movement, the International Crisis Group said Wednesday.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has taken a neutral stance toward all candidates in the first gubernatorial election in Aceh, following a controversy over whether it was supporting certain candidates.

Campaigning has begun for next month's long-awaited elections in the Indonesian province of Aceh. For the first time, Acehnese will directly elect their own governor and independent candidates will get to take part.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Speakers: Damien Kingsbury, one-time advisor to the GAM negotiating team and Indonesia specialist at Deakin University

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Campaigning for the landmark Dec. 11 elections in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam kicked off Friday after gubernatorial candidates pledged to campaign peacefully in the polls seen as key to cementing a peace deal in the tsunami-devastated province.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Two years after the December 2004 tsunami devastated Aceh, women are playing a significant role in helping the economy bounce back.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – After being suspended for around a month for his alleged involvement in a corruption case, Akhyarmansyah Lubis has been appointed by the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) as the agency's asset management adviser.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Two foreign observers have been accredited by Aceh's Independent Election Commission (KIP) to monitor the upcoming Aceh vote.

The two are the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM).

Nani Afrida, Aceh Jaya – It was once too dangerous to dine out in Aceh Jaya's Tuwe village, a former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) stronghold and the scene of frequent fighting between guerrillas and soldiers.

But now the ominous sound of gunfire, which used to be common in the former military "black"-zoned district of Panga, has been replaced with good-natured banter.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Muhammad Kalianda is tired of waiting for help to build a new home to replace the one destroyed in the December 2004 tsunami. So the 53-year-old teacher is slowly working alone to finish the building an aid agency promised him.

Mark Forbes – On Banda Aceh's outskirts sits a deserted village of banana yellow fibro shacks, held together with duct tape and built without water or power in the middle of a flood plain.

Banda Aceh – All eight pairs of candidates for the governorship and vice-governorship of Aceh on Tuesday vowed to work for peaceful elections in December.

The candidates signed a pledge to safeguard peace in Aceh during a ceremony attended by current Aceh governor Mustafa Abubakar, head of the Aceh police, Bahrumsyah Kasman, and various other officials and activists.

Nani Afrida, Aceh Besar – Tsunami survivors living in Aceh Besar regency are demanding the government compensate then for land acquired to build an alternative road from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh.

"It has already been two years since the government promised to reimburse us for our land," a Glebruek village resident, Syarifuddin, 30, told The Jakarta Post.

Aguswandi, Banda Aceh – Expectations are high while the possibilities for violence are likely slim in the scheduled December elections in Aceh. Voter turnout is also expected to be high. All the basic requirements for an election are very likely to be fulfilled. But will the Aceh elections be successful?

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Aceh needs at least 10,000 election observers to help ensure just and democratic regional polls in Aceh on Dec. 11, Ikhwanussufa of the Independent Election Committee in Aceh (KIP Aceh) said Friday.

Foster Klug, Washington – The head of the European Union-led peace monitoring mission in Indonesia's devastated Aceh province predicted on Thursday a smooth transition when the Europeans leave next month as former rebels rejoin society, participate in elections and negotiate directly with their former enemies in government.

Ahmad Pathoni, Jakarta – Most people in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province want to vote in December's landmark elections but many wrongly believe they are not registered to do so, a survey released on Wednesday showed.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Eight pairs of candidates are eligible to contest Aceh's Dec. 11 gubernatorial elections, the Aceh Independent Elections Commission declared Monday.

Among the hopefuls running for governor are a retired general and former head of the military district command and a former member of the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Sydney – The democratic process has moved forward in Aceh province. The provincial election in Aceh will be held on 11 December 2006 after the Indonesian parliament endorsed the Law for the Aceh Government, on 12 July 2006.

This election was mandated in the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in August 2005 in Helsinki.

Banda Aceh – A former Indonesian general and a separatist rebel are among eight candidates running for governor in the once-volatile province of Aceh next month, an election official said on Monday.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Aceh's first-ever direct elections are scheduled for December, yet many eligible voters may be unable to cast ballots because they have not registered.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – The European Union election monitoring mission is upbeat Aceh's first direct elections, scheduled for December, will proceed peacefully.

Banda Aceh – 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.

Vanda Mutia Dewi, Jakarta – A recent report by Greenomics Indonesia revealed some very interesting facts about who exactly is to blame for the delays affecting the reconstruction process in Aceh.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Former rebels may lose upcoming direct elections in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam because they have split into two rival groups, analysts say.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – An Acehnese woman is fighting to contest this year's direct gubernatorial election, saying the local poll body unfairly declared her unable to read the Koran.

Passing a Koranic reading test is one of the requirements for candidates to vie for the Dec. 11 gubernatorial election in Aceh, which applies Islamic sharia law.

Jakarta – The challenge of staging polls in Indonesia's Aceh this year should not derail a peace pact signed in 2005 between separatists and the government, an analyst said Thursday.

Jakarta – Peace in Indonesia's once-restive Aceh province should hold even if former separatist rebels running in December's local elections fail to win any posts, analysts said on Thursday.

Sutarto, Jakarta – Sidney Jones, President Director of the International Crisis Group for Southeast Asia, estimates that regional leaders' election in Aceh will be safe.

The indication is that the votes of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will be divided so now there is no reason to encourage people to oppose the GAM.

Jakarta – Election officials in Indonesia's strife-torn Aceh province have ordered that potential candidates for upcoming provincial polls must be able to recite from the Koran, Islam's holy book, in order to run, a local report said Thursday.