The General Elections Commission (KPU) is set to reopen registration for regional head races this week in areas where only one candidate pair has signed up, in an effort to prevent uncontested elections in the upcoming November polls.

As the three-day candidate registration period closed on Thursday, West Papua province, along with 42 regencies and cities, including Surabaya and the East Kalimantan capital of Samarinda, had seen only one candidate pair register.

With 43 areas now facing the threat of an uncontested election, the KPU announced on Friday night that it would reopen the registration from Monday to Wednesday to provide the chance for political parties to reconfigure their alliances and field alternative candidate pairs.

“The public has the right [to have a regional election] with more than just one candidate,” KPU commissioner Idham Holik told a press conference on Friday. “Our technical regulations discourage single-candidate elections, but it’s ultimately up to the political parties to decide.”

A KPU regulation enacted on Aug. 25 stipulates that the commission can extend the registration period in areas where only a single candidate pair has registered and there are still political parties that have met the nomination threshold that have yet to register a candidate.

In cases where there are parties unable to nominate a candidate because they do not meet the nomination threshold, other parties that have already registered a candidate can change their support to another candidate by joining with the undeclared party.

Independent candidates who meet the candidacy requirements but have not registered with the KPU can also submit their applications during the extension window.

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