Former rebel leader wins Aceh polls

A former rebel leader today swept to victory in the first elections in Indonesia’s Aceh province since the government and the separatists signed a peace deal in the tsunami-ravaged region last year, according to a sampling of votes tallied by a respected local pollster.

Irwandi Yusuf, who was in jail for treason when the tsunami crashed into the province in 2004, had 39 percent of the vote for governor, while the second placed candidate polled 13 percent, according to the Indonesian Survey Institute, which counted a representative sample of votes cast across the province.