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s the deadline for the registration of Central Java gubernatorial candidates approached, no candidates had registered at the provincial General Elections Commission (KPUD) office as of Friday.

The registration period has been open since Feb. 27 and will close on March 5.

Central Java KPUD head Fajar Subhi said it was unclear why the big political parties had yet to register their candidates. According to him, it would be fine even if parties registered at the end of the period.

“The important thing is they don’t pass the specified date,” he said.

As of this moment, the two major parties in the province — the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with 23 seats at the provincial legislature and the Democratic Party (16 seats), which both can nominate their own candidates — have yet to register candidates.

Prominent candidates from the PDI-P include Central Java Deputy Governor Rustriningsih, House of Representatives member Ganjar Pranowo, Central Java provincial secretary Hadi Prabowo and Sumedang Regent Don Murdono. The Democrats will most likely nominate incumbent Governor Bibit Waluyo. However, both parties have yet to decide on their deputy gubernatorial candidates.

Meanwhile, disappointed with political parties failing to immediately register candidates contesting the upcoming election slated for May 26, two members of the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) went to the KPUD office to nominate themselves as gubernatorial candidates.

The two students were KAMMI Central Java chapter leader Arief Eka Atmaja and KAMMI public policy affairs head Tri Hartanto, who call were calling themselves “Arto”, or money in Javanese.

Prior to enlisting as candidates, the pair, who wore traditional Javanese attire, addressed the crowd by expressing their mission and vision on Jl. Pahlawan in Semarang.

“Registering as gubernatorial candidates is the right of every citizen. We, the younger generation, feel that we are capable of carrying out the task of improving the welfare of the people,” said Arief.

According to Arief, the action represented a satirical take on political parties in Central Java. He thought the parties had failed to immediately register their candidates because they were busy with political deals for the sake of their internal affairs.

The students expressed concern that political parties lacked a clear criteria for gubernatorial candidates. The parties were also deemed to be evasive to the public on the candidates they were nominating.

“If it’s based on quality, the parties should have decided on their candidates and need not wait for the final day of registration. Quality should be the main consideration in determining a candidate,” said Arief, adding that their actions served to politically educate the public.

They urged political parties to pay attention to public interests rather than personal interests in deciding on gubernatorial candidates. Political parties should also select credible candidates for developing a better Central Java, they said.

The KPUD returned the students’ candidacy documents as they were not endorsed by any political party, a mandatory requirement for candidates.