ACEH ELECTIONS SMOOTH AND PEACEFUL

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000654 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EPA/RSP, DRL; NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ID SUBJECT: ACEH ELECTIONS SMOOTH AND PEACEFUL REF: JAKARTA 645 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate Medan. It is Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Polling in Aceh was smooth and calm on election day, despite tensions and intimidation in the run-up to the legislative elections. Security was tight, with police and military on duty in small numbers at each polling station. Foreign observers from the U.S. Mission, the Carter Center and elsewhere were well dispersed across the province, helping to safeguard peaceful and fair elections. Septels review the situation nationally and in Papua. END SUMMARY. SMOOTH IN ACEH ¶3. (SBU) Aceh legislative elections were pleasantly uneventful, according to a wide spectrum of observers we consulted after noontime closing of polls on April 9. In contrast to several months of sporadic political violence and intimidation preceding the elections, election-day incidents were limited to mistakes on the registration rolls, crowded polling stations, and other such glitches common across Indonesia. ¶4. (SBU) Organizers from Partai Aceh (PA),the party of former separatists, complained of threats at one polling station in the political tinderbox of Central Aceh Province. A PA leader in Central Aceh also called us complaining that large numbers of PA supporters were not listed on the rolls in one area, but this type of problem also occurred in other parts of the country. However, even former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) local political leaders told ConGen Medan that they are pleased with the fair process so far. ¶5. (SBU) The only real concern at this point is proper tallying of the votes, although political party monitors were present at all the polling stations observers visited. Furthermore, seven Carter Center observers in Aceh will be watching the vote counting process. PA is largely expected to garner a large plurality of the vote (reftel). SECURITY TIGHT ¶6. (SBU) Security was tight but non-threatening at polling stations. Small numbers of police and military were posted a proper distance from the polls, although in some cases they were posted right outside the stations, not allowed by election rules. Some observers witnessed poll workers being overly helpful with voters, assisting them to mark ballots and to put ballots in the boxes. ¶7. (SBU) A Finnish diplomat witnessed police, rather than elections officials, instructing voters to return home to get their registration letters at a station in Aceh Besar, northern Aceh. Police asked this diplomat and two diplomatic colleagues from Finland and Germany to go to a police station for brief questioning, the only election day report of problems for observers. U.S. Mission and Carter Center observers all received full support by authorities in observing the election. In the isolated western coast, which receives less foreign scrutiny, voters and officials at polling stations met U.S. Mission observers nervously. VOTING FOR ITS OWN LEGISLATURE--WITH ITS OWN PARTIES ¶8. (SBU) Aceh was unique nationwide as the only province allowed to have local parties compete for local legislative seats, a component of the 2005 Helsinki peace MOU. This factor contributed to tension in these elections, as anti-separatist elements are worried that a strong PA showing could lead to a referendum for independence. This is an unlikely outcome. While complex dynamics in this formerly war-torn province could still spark post-election conflict in the coming months, the apparent smooth and fair conduct of this election bodes well for continued consolidation of peace. Carter Center observers will remain in Aceh for at least another month to scrutinize the process and U.S. diplomats will continue to visit Aceh frequently. ¶9. (U) Septels review the situation nationally and in Papua. HEFFERN