For the first time in Medan, a Chinese-Indonesian candidate is set to contest the top seat in the North Sumatra capital, which will hold a second round of voting on Saturday.
Of the initial 10 candidates running for mayor last month, only two remain to contest Saturday's election.
They are Sofyan Tan and running mate Nelly Armayanto - nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) - and Rahudman Harahap and running mate Dzulmi Eldin, backed by the Democratic Party and the Golkar Party.
Sofyan, who was the treasurer of the North Sumatra wing of the PDI-P, will enter into local history as the first Chinese-Indonesian to run for mayor.
Sofyan, who spent 30 years working on social issues, said his motivation to run for mayor was simply to improve people's welfare.
When asked about his chances, he said he did not want to be overconfident, but claimed he wanted to play clean and would not resort to vote buying.
"I want to win fairly and lose graciously. That is my principle. Let the people vote," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
His said his only concern was that many residents had not registered for the vote on Saturday.
"I received reports that many residents have yet to register, including Chinese-Indonesians who form the base of my support," he said.
On Friday, North Sumatra Governor Syamsul Arifin called on eligible voters to use their voting rights, given the low turnout in the first round of the election.
The Medan General Elections Commission (KPUD) said only 36 percent of the 1.9 million eligible voters cast ballots in the first round.
"Let us not be golput in the second round of elections tomorrow. Please cast your ballots as it is the right of every citizen," Syamsul said Friday, referring to people who refused to support or vote for any candidate.
On Friday, the Medan Public Litigation Forum held a protest rally at the Medan KPUD office, saying many residents had not received their voter cards.
Medan KPUD head Evi Novida Ginting said those who had not received cards could use their identity cards to cast their votes at polling stations "but they have to be listed in the final voter roll".
