With only 24 hours left until voting day, the betting market for the simultaneous regional elections (Pilkada) continued to expand in a number of Central Java cities on Tuesday, with punters willing to place bets worth tens of millions of rupiah on their favorites to win.

In Klaten regency, of the three candidate pairs contesting the local election, the No. 2 pair of One Krisnata and Sunarto and the No. 3 pair of Sri Hartini and Sri Mulyani had become the most popular candidates among gamblers.

'€œAs of today [Tuesday], 14 punters have agreed to place total bets of around Rp 400 million [US$28,500]. The No. 2 and No. 3 pairs are the most favorite here, as bets placed on them are equal,'€ said an election betting broker, who refused to be named because of security concerns.

The 43-year-old man, a public minivan driver by profession, said there were a number of bookies in the regency who get in touch with those who wish to place bets.

Some punters, he said, had put a minimum stake of Rp 30 million with these agents on the leading candidates.

'€œI'€™m not a supporter or a member of a campaign team. I usually get a commission of around 5 percent from the stakes,'€ he said.

Another betting agent, who wanted to be identified by his initial, H, said the bet winners would be decided after the local General Elections Commission (KPUD) announced its official results for the election.

'€œThere is an agreement from the start that the bets are handed out based on the decision from the KPUD because it would take too long if the Pilkada winner is decided at the Supreme Court. Should the Pilkada result change after a lawsuit, that does not apply anymore,'€ said the 37-year-old H, who claimed that he had managed a total of Rp 600 million in stakes from gamblers.

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

Separately, Klaten KPUD head Siti Farida acknowledged the occurrence of gambling over the Pilkada. However, she added that her office could not do anything about it because it was carried out in a clandestine manner and difficult to prove.

'€œWe'€™ve sensed it, but it'€™s hard to find. I believe it'€™s the duty of the police to uncover the matter, but if the KPUD finds proof of the gambling, we will definitely coordinate with the police,'€ Siti said on Tuesday.

In the neighboring Sragen regency, the Pilkada gambling has been taking place since the middle of November. The Sragen Pilkada will be contested by four pairs, specifically Agus Fatchur Rahman and Djoko Suprapto, Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati and Dedy Endriyatno, Sugiyamto and Joko Saptono, and Jaka Sumanta and Surojogo.

According to bookie Supeno, 45, the Agus-Joko and the Kusdinar-Dedy pairs are the favorites in the betting market.

'€œAs of today, the betting market is in favor of the two pairs, but I don'€™t what tomorrow will bring,'€ said Supeno, adding that punters who correctly predicted the election winner would later claim part of the pool of money collected from those who guessed incorrectly.

Sragen Regency Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ari Wibowo said police would not hesitate to take action against gambling agents if they found evidence.

He added police were currently setting up a special team to monitor Pilkada gambling in his jurisdiction.

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