W

ith only a couple of weeks remaining before the kickoff of the initial stage of simultaneous regional head elections, individuals aspiring to run as independent candidates have stepped up efforts to garner a minimum amount of public support for their nominations.

Semarang-based Soegijapranata Catholic University lecturer Djoko Setijowarno, 51, who is planning to run as an independent candidate for the upcoming mayoral election in the Central Java city, said he had been collecting signatures and copies of electronic identity cards (e-KTP) from local residents with help from his students and campaign volunteers.

'€œAccording to the rules, I will need to collect official support from at least 105,000 Semarang residents to be able to participate in the mayoral election. It means that I will need around 600 signatures from every subdistrict in the city,'€ Djoko told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Despite his recent entry into politics, Djoko, who is known as a transportation expert, said he did not feel nervous about competing against more experienced politicians.

'€œAs a newbie, I have an advantage as a '€˜clean candidate'€™ in front of the public. They will see me as carrying no political sins,'€ Djoko said, adding that he was confident about being able to submit enough public support for his nomination to the local General Elections Commission (KPUD) next month.

Michael Remizaldy Jacobus, who is campaigning for the mayoral candidacy in Bitung, North Sulawesi, shared a similar view.

After declaring his candidacy last week, the 34-year-old lawyer turned politician and his campaign volunteers spent several days meeting local residents and collecting their endorsements.

Michael has also relied on social media to attract young voters to support his candidacy, which will need backing from at least 20,000 local residents to be considered official by the KPUD.

'€œCollecting 25,000 ID cards is actually an impossible mission, but not for God: Nothing is impossible,'€ Michael recently told his supporters through his official Facebook account.

As many as 269 provinces, regencies and municipalities, or half of the total number in the country, are slated to simultaneously hold regional elections in December. It will be the first time in Indonesia'€™s history that citizens in hundreds of regions elect their governors, regents and mayors concurrently.

The system has been deemed a breakthrough that could save time and money.

According to the 2015 Local Elections Law, independent candidates are required to gather the signatures and copies of ID cards of at least 10 percent of local residents to be able to participate in a local election held in a province with a population of fewer than 2 million, or in a city with fewer than 250,000 residents.

Those who are running in a province with a population of 2 million to 6 million, or in a city with 250,000-500,000 residents, meanwhile, must garner support from at least 8.5 percent of local people, and those running in a province with a population of 6 million to 12 million, or in a city inhabited by between 500,000 and 1 million residents, will need support from at least 7.5 percent of local people.

Independent candidates in a province with a population of more than 12 million, or in a city with more than 1 million residents, must collect endorsements from at least 6.5 percent of local residents.

These requirements, however, are stricter than those for previous local elections, which required independent candidates to collect support from 3 percent to 6.5 percent of the local population.

Political analyst Ikhsan Darmawan from the University of Indonesia'€™s Center for Development and Political Studies, however, did not see the new requirements as a violation of the principles of democracy.

'€œWith party elites controlling the nomination of candidates in local elections, independent candidates emerge as alternative figures for voters. A stricter requirement, however, will help ensure that only highly qualified individuals are able to run [as independent candidates],'€ he said.