"The President could mediate in the conflict between two parties who are all former members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), namely current Governor Irwandi Yusuf and the Aceh Party, which has so far been the source of clashes," Teuku Kemal Fasya from the Department of Social and Political Science of the local Malikussaleh University said here on Monday.
Kemal said the problem could no longer be settled at local levels as the turbulence has already entered into the central executive and judicial institutions.
"The demand of the home affairs minister to the Constitutional Court to re-open registration of candidates to give an opportunity to a number of political parties that have not yet registered themselves to register shows that the internal conflict between former GAM members have already affected national politics," he said.
Kemal said the conflict emerged after the Constitutional Court met the demand for a judicial review on Article 256 of the Law on Aceh Administration to allow independent candidates to run in the elections.
"The meeting of the demand allows current governor Irwandi Yusuf who is not nominated by Aceh Party as a candidate to run through individual nomination for his re-election as governor. On the other hand, the Aceh Party is worried Irwandi would make use of his bureaucratic machine to win the elections," he said.
That is why the Aceh Party has not yet registered itself to participate in the elections. Their fear has received legitimacy following a statement from the Aceh Independent Election Commission (KIP) which said that "the elections in Aceh could only be done if `Qanun` (by-law) as their legal basis has been made."
The KIP has so far referred to Qanun Number 7 of 2006 as their basis which has been considered by several parties as no longer valid," he said. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
