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akarta gubernatorial hopefuls might need to offer more than campaign rhetoric and media appearances to attract more city residents to cast their votes in the upcoming election.

Although he agrees that gubernatorial candidates can rely on hefty funds and massive campaigns to help boost their popularity, Charta Politika Indonesia political analyst Arya Fernandes believes that such approaches are far from enough to leave people with a strong reason to vote one way or the other.

“All forms of election campaigns, like erecting billboards and social media promotion, can only help people’s awareness level. Candidates, however, need more than just instant appearances to win the trust of the public, like an outstanding personal background or endorsement from a political party that people see has proven credibility,” Arya told The Jakarta Post earlier this week.

In the 2007 gubernatorial race, each contesting candidate — former deputy governor Fauzi Bowo with running mate Prijanto, a retired Army general, and former National Police deputy chief Adang Daradjatun with running mate councillor Dani Anwar — managed to collect more than Rp 40 billion (US$4.4 million) in campaign funds from firms and individual sponsors, but it only resulted in an average turnout of 65 percent.

University of Indonesia political observer Andrinof Chaniago predicted that the level of participation in the upcoming gubernatorial election would insignificantly drop or increase.

“The main goal of all gubernatorial wannabes is instant victory. So it is common to see candidates putting most of their time and effort in approaching their potential supporter bases and leaving those who are unlikely to vote for them,” Andrinof said.

As of last week, the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the city’s second-largest political party, had officially announced Jakarta Council’s deputy speaker Triwisaksana as its candidate in this year’s gubernatorial elections, while the Golkar Party, the city’s fourth-biggest party, had endorsed South Sumatran Governor Alex Noerdin with additional support from the United Development Party and the Prosperous Peace Party.