T

he Medan chapter of the General Elections Commission (KPU) has opened registration for independent candidates that want to race in the next mayoral election scheduled for Dec. 9.

'€œSo far, there are two independent candidates. They consulted us on the procedures for independent candidates joining the elections. They can fill out the registration forms until June 7,'€ Medan KPU commissioner Pandapotan Tamba told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.

Based on KPU regulation No. 9/2015, Pandapotan revealed an independent candidate would receive support if he or she garnered at least 160,367 votes '€” documented through copies of ID cards '€” spread among at least 11 districts from the total 21 districts in Medan.

He said the independent candidate should submit the ID cards to Medan KPU sometime between June 11 and June 15.

The elections commission would then verify the data from June 23 to July 6, he added.

'€œThe verification process is very important as we often find double counting. If we find two separate copies of the same ID, we will ask the candidates to seek additional support,'€ said Pandapotan.

After finishing the registration of independent candidates, he said Medan KPU would open a registration for candidates from political parties.

'€œWe will invite candidates, both independent and from political parties, on Wednesday to explain the KPU regulation, Pandapotan said.

Last month, the Elections and Democracy Investigation Institution (LIPDem) announced its survey result, showing that independent candidates had a good chance of winning the elections.

The survey revealed that confidence in established parties was only 21 percent while confidence in candidates, regardless of their party, was 71.1 percent.

Other factors that received attention from voters, according to the survey, Henry said, were candidates'€™ performances and programs.

Candidates'€™ performances were deemed important by 55.7 percent of respondents, candidates'€™ programs were seen as critical by 53.3 percent, candidates'€™ religion was an important factor for 51.9 percent of the survey'€™s participants and candidates'€™ gender was considered critical for 33.3 percent of respondents.

However, a political observer from the state-run North Sumatra University, Agus Suriadi, said independent candidates would compete with their rivals from other political parties.

Agus predicted there would not be too many independent candidates running in the elections.

'€œI predict that there would be few or even no independent candidates because the requirements are difficult and complicated,'€ he said on Tuesday.

He said the few independent candidates may also have difficulty getting news coverage, because much of the news on those interested in running was focused on candidates from established parties.

Although political parties have the right to nominate the candidates, Agus said the popularity and performance of the candidates would determine the victory.

'€œThere is a trend that political parties have been using independent surveys to measure the quality of candidates. It shows that the candidates are a determining factor in the elections,'€ he added.