Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has expressed optimism that regional elections held simultaneously in 17 provinces, 39 cities and 115 regencies across Indonesia on Wednesday would run well.

He made the statement when monitoring voting at polling stations in Semarang, Central Java, on Wednesday. 

During his visit to his hometown, Tjahjo also clarified what he called a "data error" because he was registered to vote in the Central Java gubernatorial election even though he had been registered as a Jakarta resident for the last three years. 

"I have come here to personally clarify that I am not a resident of Semarang anymore, thus I have no right to vote," Tjahjo said. "I also want to make sure that my data will not be misused." 

Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) head Abhan said double-registered voters was one of challenges the government had dealt with to ensure accountable elections.

Abhan also cited transactional politics as another problem. "We have received reports and evidence of distribution of money at the last minute to buy votes in several region," he said while accompanying Tjahjo on his monitoring rounds. 

Abhan, who is a Semarang resident, voted at the polling station (TPS) 1 in Sendangmulyo, Semarang. Three regions -- Central Java, East Java and West Java -- are considered important for next year's legislative and presidential elections because of the large number of voters they each have. (ebf)