T

he upcoming local leadership elections in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) will likely field a limited number of independent candidates as only seven pairs of candidates have signed up with the Regional General Elections Commission (KPUD) to contest in the elections.

NTT KPUD head Maryanti Luturmas told The Jakarta Post on Monday that only seven independent candidates had registered their candidacies in five out of nine local elections in NTT, set to be held concurrently on Dec. 9.

Two independent candidates, he said, registered in Sabu Raijua regency, two in West Sumba regency and one each in Manggarai, Ngada and West Manggarai regencies.

Four other regencies '€” Malaka, Belu, North Central Timor and East Central Timor '€” have seen no independent candidates signing up for the local elections.

'€œThe local KPUDs are currently verifying their documents to determine their eligibility for the local elections,'€ Maryanti said.

Among the aspiring independent candidates, Sabu Rajua regent Marthen Dira Tome has become the only independent candidate who serves as an incumbent. In previous elections, Marthen was endorsed by the Golkar Party. He, however, preferred to run as an independent candidate following the long-standing leadership dispute within Golkar.

In a bid to save time and money, the government has scheduled concurrent local elections in 269 provinces, regencies and municipalities, or half of the total number in the country, for this year, making it the first time in Indonesia'€™s history that citizens in hundreds of regions will elect their governors, regents and mayors concurrently.