'This is a sign of the democratisation process. Anyone can run for governor,' said Bakhtiar Abdullah, a senior GAM leader, who recently returned to Indonesia after a 25-year exile.

Yet, Asn Bin, a fruit seller at Banda Aceh's main market, described Mr Yusuf as 'a butcher' and his chances of victory as 'non-existent'. The latter opinion is backed by Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group, who said 'Djali will have little sway in the province where people are still suspicious of the military'.

Mr Yusuf said that the past does not matter and that he is running to help the province, where he was born 57 years ago.

'I understand that not everybody likes me. This is a personal choice, but I do not think my past is a problem. I have had a very good reception wherever I have been campaigning,' he said.

'Maybe this is because, when I was in charge of the TNI, I always asked my soldiers to treat the local population fairly, as if they were their brothers, sisters or even parents.'

He also said that he never considered GAM a real enemy.

'The TNI and GAM had different ideas about how to develop Aceh. But I always thought of GAM's members as Acehnese first and foremost, and therefore brothers,' said Mr Yusuf, who won praise in Jakarta when his troops killed GAM commander Abdullah Syafei.

Mr Yusuf led the TNI in 2002-2003. He advocated a tough stance against GAM, who he accused of 'great brutality' in a report submitted to then-president Megawati Sukarnoputri in July 2002.

The report is considered one of the main factors that led to the declaration of martial law in the province and the launch of the country's largest military offensive in which 40,000 soldiers were sent to Aceh in May 2003 to crush an estimated 5,000 GAM combatants.

At that time, Mr Yusuf was quoted as saying that 'GAM will be broken within six months'.

But GAM resisted the onslaught. Mr Yusuf was removed from his post because he was considered 'too soft to fight the rebels', and the war continued until the December 2004 tsunami killed more than 170,000 in the province.

Then it was time for peace and, on Monday, it will be time to decide who will lead Aceh for the next five years. Mr Yusuf cited his 'nice' childhood memories and his 'not-so-nice' adult memories from the staunchly Muslim province as his reasons for running.

'I came from a military family. We moved around a lot, but I finished my junior and senior high school in Aceh. Acehnese obeyed the Koran and never forgot to pray,' he said.

'But then, as an adult, I have always felt enraged to see Aceh poorer than the rest of the country. And I thought that this was a consequence of both the air of hatred created by the war and the manipulation by some people within the government.'

Aceh is Indonesia's fourth poorest province and the most corrupt, recent data revealed. Mr Yusuf said that if he were elected, he would strive to create a clean government, try to provide free education for all and consolidate peace.

'If you check out my background, you can see that I have always looked for peace,' said Mr Yusuf.

'As a governor, I would continue to strive for peace, as long as this is within the constitution and does not threaten Indonesia's national sovereignty,' he said, also promising a stricter implementation of sharia law.

'Most of Aceh's troubles are caused by people's immoral behaviour. If I am elected as governor, I will make sure that people follow sharia.'

Aceh is the only Indonesian province where sharia law can be legally implemented in full. Recently, concerns have been raised that its application is biased against women and the poor.

Monday - Women in Aceh's politics