No indie candidates in C. Java election

Central Java General Elections Commission (KPU) chief Fajar Subhi said that the upcoming gubernatorial election would likely see no independent candidates, since no such candidates had registered.

“We have seen no one coming to register, thus it's confirmed that we will have no independent candidates in the upcoming gubernatorial election,” he said.

In order to be able to register as an independent candidate, one should be able to collect at least 1.178 million ID cards from at least 18 regencies within Central Java province as a form of support.

He said that after this, the KPU would continue with the process, opening registration for candidates with political party support.  

A political observer from Diponegoro University, Yulianto, said that the requirement to collect over a million ID cards had discouraged people from registering as independent candidates simply because it was costly.

“Collecting a million ID cards is simply costly politics. No wonder no one is up for the challenge,” Yulianto said.

The Central Java gubernatorial election is slated to be held on May 26 this year. Several names have been recognized as potential candidates: incumbent Governor Bibit Waluyo, Deputy Governor Rustriningsih and Regional Secretary Hadi Prabowo.