Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) foreign affairs and health minister Zaini Abdullah has been elected Aceh Province governor in the regional election on April 9, 2012.

Zaini Abdullah, with his co-partner Muzakir Manaf, won a landslide victory of 55,78 percent out of 2,380,386 valid votes, according to the Aceh`s Independent Election Commission, which met here on Tuesday.

The couple, who was supported by the local Aceh party, Partai Aceh, and a coalition of political parties, was stated in an open plenary session of the Independent Election Commission at the Aceh`s legislative council building.

The committee`s chairman, Abdul Salam Poroh, said that the winning couple was elected after winning 1,327,695 votes out of 2,380,386 votes cast by the public.

"Incumbent candidates Irwandy Yusuf and Muhyan Yunan only received 694,515 votes or 29,18 percent," Abdul Salam said here on Wednesday.

Followed by the Democratic Party candidates Muhammad Nazar and Nova Iriansyah, receiving 182,079 votes or 7.65 percent of votes, and the independent candidates Darni M Daud and Ahmad Fauzi who won 96,767 votes or 4.07 percent. The couple receiving the fewest was Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin and Teuku Suriansyah, who only won 79,330 votes or 3.33 percent.

After the confirmation of the regional election results, the committee is waiting for any lawsuits from other candidates who have objections to present to the Constitutional Court.

"So, please file a lawsuit with the deadline being three days from now. If nobody is filing a lawsuit, we will submit the results to the local legislatures," Abdul Salam noted.

The Aceh legislatures will hand over the results to the interior ministry, followed by a decision letter for the governor and deputy governor of Aceh for the period 2012-2017, which will be issued.

Zaini Abdullah, a former Foreign and Health Minister of the Free Aceh Movement since 1976, was also one of the figures who signed the peace memorandum of understanding of the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian Republic in Helsinki, Finland on August 15, 2005.

Muzakir Manaf was the former Commander of the Armed Forces of the movement and now serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Aceh from the Aceh party.

Partai Aceh is the only local party in the province which had a majority vote in the 2009 legislative election in the Provincial`s legislative council.
(T.A050/INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012