Two early exit polls showed former rebel senior member Irawandi Yusuf won in the first-direct gubernatorial election in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday.

The counts, held by the leading Lingkaran Survey Indonesia (LSI) and the Aceh-based Jurdil, indicated that the two front-runners of Irawandi Yusuf and Muhammad Nazar respectively obtained 39.27 percent and 38.57 percent of total votes.

"Irwandi Yusuf and Muhammad Nazar will be the next governors of Aceh," said Tengku Ardiansyah, spokesman of the Aceh Jurdil.

Two pairs with military backgrounds got the least support, with both surveys giving them less than five percent.

Director of the LSI Denny J.A. said that being an independent candidate and his concern over the fate of Acehnese might contribute to Yusuf's win.

"Irwandi has shown that he understands the problem in the fields," said Denny.

Sydney Jones, director of the Crisis Management Group said that if Yusuf's votes were combined around 11.07 percent of votes attributed another GAM pair, it would comfort the ex-rebel with over 50 percent of the votes.

"It is strong enough to lead," she told Xinhua.

Irwandi Yusuf had been special contra-intelligence staff for the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from 2003 to 2004. He was part of the GAM military wing from 2001 to 2003.
 
He was later detained as a war prisoner in Banda Aceh, the capital of the province from 2003 to 2004. He was known by the government as he had been a negotiator with Jakarta from 2001 to 2002.

Commenting on the result, Yusuf said it showed that Acehnese desire fundamental change in all aspects of life and governance.

"This is the dream of the Acehnese people, and it will be hard work for me," he said.

Yusuf said he wants to prioritize economic development and acceleration of the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation in the northern tip of the Sumatra island.

He also promised to listen to the Acehnese people rather than other parties, such as GAM leaders in exile.

Yusuf said he wanted Jakarta to delegate more authority to the Acehnese as mentioned in the peace deal. The deal was reached between the government and the GAM in Helsinki, Finland on August 15, 2005, in an effort to end a three-decade bloodshed that claimed the lives of 15,000 people, most of them civilians.

The GAM spokesman and negotiator Nur Juli, who lives in Malaysia and is now visiting the province, said that the victory was hailed by rural people.

"They were happy. We do not only want a change of regime but also of system," said Juli, "we want to see a democracy, strong law enforcement and justice."

Over 2.6 million out of 4.2 million Acehnese cast their votes in 8,000 polling stations in the province.

Among the governor candidates, two of them were from the military, two others are former rebels and the rest are government officials, clerics and members of national political parties.

The Indonesian parliament endorsed a landmark law for Aceh province in July, paving the way for provincial elections and allowing Aceh greater autonomy and control over most of its oil and natural gas.

The GAM had fought for an independent state since 1976, but then ruled out its purpose of independence during the peace accord.

Aceh province was devastated by tsunami on December 26, 2004, leaving over 170,000 people dead or missing.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2006)