The three presidential candidates set off in different directions Thursday, commencing their official outdoor election campaigns.
Democratic Party candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spent his first day in the capital.
The Golkar Party candidate Jusuf Kalla began his campaign in his hometown of Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri promised, if elected, to immediately ratify the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
Worker rights activist Mahmudin, from the Karawang Migrant Worker Solidarity group was optimistic Megawati and Prabowo would deliver their promise.
"Despite the lack of protection schemes, the Law on Migrant Worker Placement in Foreign Countries was passed under Megawati's administration.
"At least we have seen a sign of good will from her before," Mahmudin told The Jakarta Post.
Incumbent President Yudhoyono began his outdoor campaigning Thursday recording a TV show at the Tanah Abang textile markets in Central Jakarta, after a meeting with Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and several ministers at the Presidential Office.
During recording "Presidential Candidates Go to Traditional Markets", broadcast by ANTV, a local TV station, Yudhoyono greeted vendors and visitors, and allowed some of them to pose for photos with him.
Yudhoyono promised, as quoted by vivenews.com, he would continue to protect traditional markets if re-elected, saying such markets were "the backbone of the economy" and that protecting them had always been his policy.
Responding to questions from the audience, Yudhoyono also said he would continue the direct cash aid (BLT), free health services for the poor, and school operational aid (BOS) programs.
He also said he would fight to prevent smuggling.
In the evening, Yudhoyono officiated the annual Jakarta Fair at the Jakarta Fair Ground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
Meanwhile, incumbent Vice President Kalla and his running mate Wiranto promised to accelerate development and create more jobs.
The pair were speaking to thousands of supporters who thronged Karebosi Stadium in Makassar.
"*Indonesia's* economic growth remains sluggish because many of our citizens are unemployed.
"We promise to double economic growth if we are elected," Kalla said, citing the country's abundant human and natural resources to support his development program.
Kalla also pledged to pay more attention to empowering the younger generation by providing loans for young entrepreneurs.
At the conclusion of his campaign, Kalla called on all South Sulawesi people to spare one minute of their time to come to polling stations and vote for him.
"For your one minute *spent voting*, I will give you a better five years."
