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ntrepreneurs and politicians from the Chinese-Indonesian community have expressed their interest in taking part in regional leadership elections in a number of regions in North Sumatra.

Some of them have even introduced themselves to the community in anticipation of elections at the end of this year.

An entrepreneur from Pematang Siantar, Yunus Timotius, 52, said he had begun to introduce himself as a mayoral hopeful, claiming the response from the public so far had been quite good.

'€œMaybe because it'€™s the first time a Chinese-Indonesian candidate is running in the mayoral race, so the public has been quite enthusiastic about my introduction, especially the ethnic Chinese community,'€ Timotius told The Jakarta Post recently.

He added that he had registered as a mayoral candidate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Dec. 6. He said he had earlier planned to sign up with the Hanura Party, but had been deterred by the Rp 10 million (US$800) registration fee.

'€œI was surprised because I'€™m a Hanura Party member, but I was still charged. Consequently, I did not register with Hanura,'€ said Timotius, who in the 2014 legislative election contested as a legislative candidate from the Hanura Party in Bandung, West Java.

Timotius, who currently resides in Bandung, said despite signing up with the PDI-P, he intended to run as an independent candidate as the House of Representatives had already passed a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on direct elections.

Timotius expressed optimism he could win the mayoral election as an independent, given the support from the ethnic Chinese community and his wide network among various communities in Pematang Siantar. He said the ethnic Chinese population in Pematang Siantar was roughly 15 percent of the total population of 250,000.

Regarding election expenses, Timotius said a number of donors and volunteers had prepared funds of Rp 1 billion for campaign funding. He added that despite the financial support from donors, he would not be bound to them.

Besides Timotius, two other Chinese-Indonesian businessmen are also reported to have added their names to the mayoral ballot. They are Sujito from Pematang Siantar and Sumandi Wijaya from Medan.

Pematang Siantar will hold elections simultaneously with 19 regencies and cities in North Sumatra.

In Medan, a number of ethnic Chinese politicians are also preparing to compete in the Medan mayoral election.

Hasyim, from the PDI-P, said he was ready to run in the election if chosen by the party.

'€œI'€™m serious about running in the Medan mayoral election. However, I will wait for the order from the party,'€ said Hasyim, who garnered the most votes from PDI-P candidates in Medan during the 2014 legislative election.

Hasyim, who is currently a Me-dan municipal councilor, said he was optimistic about winning the Medan mayoral election if he was nominated by the PDI-P. He added that the potential number of votes from the ethnic Chinese community in Medan was significant, as it reached 25 percent of the total of 2.5 million people in the city, including votes from other communities.

Hasyim, who has served as a city councilor for two periods, said he was pleased with the development of democracy in Indonesia. All citizens, he argued, including those from the ethnic Chinese community, had a fair chance to run in regional leadership elections. According to him, this is a remarkable achievement in the progress of democracy in Indonesia.

'€œWe now see many ethnic Chinese sitting in the legislative and executive institutions. This indicates that our democracy has progressed,'€ said Hasyim.