Building Democracy in Post-Conflict Aceh: Dynamics and Challenges

The Aceh conflict was settled through Helsinki Peace Agreement in August 2005. The implementation of a local election, which was the very first step of democratization, right after the agreement is considered as a strategic instrument for establishing a sustainable peace in the region. However, post-conflict election process can also create an entry to the emergence of new conflicts and violence. Theoretically speaking, multiple factors are frequently related to the study of post-conflict democracy, covering institutional infrastructure and potential violence/conflict. The questions are 1. how does the post-conflict election in Aceh help build democracy?; and 2. to what extent is the institutional and social preparedness in the implementation of the post-conflict election in Aceh?. Empirically, the data mainly indicate that diverse issues are closely entangled with the implementation of post-conflict election in Aceh, including governance, such as accountability, transparency, law enforcement and money politics, institutional infrastructure, capacity and integrity of election committee, including the unfairness and partiality of KIP, Panwas, PPK, PPS, KPPS and potential violence and intimidation. The data are primarily derived from interviews with diverse relevant stakeholders and secondary sources, including academic publications, governmental and public reports and documents and news papers.