T

he lead-up to the Jakarta gubernatorial election enters its most important phase this week, when candidates will start focusing their energy on selling promises and grabbing voters’ hearts and minds.

The Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD) is to officially name on Monday the three pairs of candidates who will run in the election: incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat; Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno; and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Sylviana Murni.

On the following day, the candidates will formally receive ticket numbers, which they will represent using one, two or three fingers throughout the campaign to remind residents about voting for them.

The campaign period, meanwhile, will kick off on Friday.

KPUD chairman Sumarno said Ahok and Djarot, who were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar Party, NasDem Party and Hanura Party, would take a temporary leave of absence from Friday and would resume work on Feb. 11, the end of the campaign period.

Sumarno said over the weekend that the KPUD had received Ahok and Djarot’s letters of temporary leave on Wednesday.

He said the KPUD had not received a letter of resignation from Agus, who is an Army major, from the Indonesian Military or a leave letter from Agus’ running mate Sylviana, who is currently assistant to the Jakarta governor for culture and tourism.

He said the candidates had 60 days after Monday’s announcement to submit their letters.

To ensure that the campaign runs smoothly, the Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) requires the candidates to submit lists of social media accounts they will use during the period.

The measure aims to prevent smear campaigns including the use of sectarian issues to attack other candidates.

Bawaslu recently warned that candidates found guilty of involvement in smear tactics could face criminal charges in addition to disqualification from the race.

Jakarta has seen increasing religious sentiments ahead of the election, following claims of blasphemy committed by Ahok. Bawaslu and the KPUD plan to engage all candidates in a declaration for a peaceful campaign on Sunday.

The three candidates in fact began introducing themselves to constituents after they registered at the KPUD last month. Though they have yet to give details of their programs, the candidates offered their views on some of the city’s most pressing problems, such as the reclamation of Jakarta Bay and evictions.

Ahok’s eviction policy has been widely criticized by low-income communities and the candidates seem to differ in their views on the issue.

Anies and Agus both said recently that they would consider such issues on a case-by-case basis.