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ncumbent Batu Mayor Eddy Rumpoko is predicted to have garnered the most votes in the mayoral election held on Tuesday.

Eddy and his running mate Punjul Santoso, nominated by 11 political parties led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), won 48 percent of the vote, according to a quick count.

The quick count, conducted by Malang-based Brawijaya University’s (UB) Policy Engineering and Politics Laboratory (Lapora), showed that contenders Abdul Majid-Kustomo (independent), Suhadi-Suyitno (backed by seven parties led by the Golkar Party) and Gunawan Wirutomo-Soendjojo (Hanura, PKNU and Barnas) won 24 percent, 21 percent and 6 percent of the vote respectively.

“The accuracy of the quick count result is 99 percent,” Labora chairman Wawan Eko Kuswandoro said, adding that the quick count was conducted by 52 UB students from samples at 160 polling stations (TPS).

The Batu General Elections Commission (KPUD) validated 146,877 voters who could cast votes at 399 TPS.

Eddy’s road to victory, however, will not be smooth as the lawyers of the three other candidate pairs filed a lawsuit with the Surabaya State Administrative Court (PTUN) against the KPUD on Monday, a day before the election.

The plaintiffs claim that the Batu KPUD’s decision to approve Eddy Rumpoko and Punjul Santoso’s candidacy was questionable.

“We filed the lawsuit so the court will annul the KPUD’s approval of Eddy Rumpoko’s candidacy,” said Setyo Eko Cahyono, spokesman for the three candidate pairs’ legal team.

Eddy initially did not pass verification for the election after the Batu KPUD discovered that Eddy’s senior high school certificate was false.

He and the PDI-P then filed a lawsuit against the KPUD at the Surabaya PTUN. The PTUN ruled in favor of Eddy on Sept. 20 and stated that the candidate pair met the requirements and could take part in the 2012 Batu mayoral election.

Despite its right to appeal, the Batu KPUD decided to approve their candidacy a day after the PTUN decision. The measure, said Batu KUD head Bagyo Prasasti Prasetyo, was to ensure a smooth election.

To face the lawsuit filed by the three candidate pairs, Batu KPUD Data and Planning working unit spokesman Supriyanto said his office had prepared a defense team.

“They have the right to take legal action, so please go ahead,” Supriyanto told The Jakarta Post by phone on Tuesday.

Eddy separately said that he had no qualms over the lawsuit. “Please do so, provided they go through legal means,” Eddy said.