Three hundreds and eleven legislative candidates in Jakarta are vying for 21 allocated seats in the House of Representatives.

The dapil (electoral districts) in the capital are considered among the toughest across the archipelago.

Well-known and long-time politicians are spread across three dapil, namely Dapil 1, which covers East Jakarta, Dapil 2, which covers Central Jakarta, South Jakarta and overseas, and Dapil 3, which covers North Jakarta, West Jakarta and Thousand Islands regency.

The candidates are trying to gain support from more than 7 million voters. Although they are to not directly oversee Jakarta or work closely with the city administration once elected, they promise to help fix problems in Jakarta, at least as individuals.

Dapil 3 is considered the toughest among them, where 115 candidates are vying for eight seats.

Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the founder of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), who recently switched allegiance to support the reelection bid of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate Ma’ruf Amin, is among the candidates most favored to walk into the House, although several surveys indicated that his party may fail to pass the 4 percent electoral threshold required to seat members in the legislature.

Other popular names include Abraham Lunggana of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Charles Honoris of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Grace Natalie, the chairwoman of the Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI).

Former law and human rights minister Yusril said that to tackle all the problems plaguing Jakarta, the capital should be controlled directly under the President to ensure cooperation between the city and the central government, as well as to better manage the capital and its surrounding area, given how related the capital and its satellite cities are. Therefore, when elected, he would strive to produce a law to realize the plan.

“There should be a ministerial post to manage Jakarta and a commission at the House to oversee it,” Yusril said. “Many people may raise their eyebrows at first, but this is a solution to the longstanding problems in Jakarta.”

Meanwhile, Charles has pledged to donate his whole salary as a lawmaker to advocate for the needs of the people of Jakarta. Charles, who is an incumbent member and a close ally of former Jakarta governor Basuki “BTP” Tjahaja Purnama, said he had been doing so since he was first elected to be a lawmaker in 2014.

He said that he had established a Constituent House, which enabled Jakarta residents to lodge complaints about their problems and ask for help.

“For example, I have provided two ambulances to help those in need for free,” Charles said.

In Dapil 2, where 2.3 million voters are to cast ballots, several well-known figures include the former speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly, Hidayat Nur Wahid, and Tsamara Amany Alatas of PSI, who brands herself as a millennial politician.

Tsamara, 22, said that based on her direct observation, the distinctive needs of young people in Jakarta and other big cities generally included support for their activities in the digital era. Among her efforts to support youth were a revision of vocational school curriculums to match them with the demands of jobs, as well as the production of laws that are friendly to youth.

“I want the [state] to acknowledge ‘YouTuber’ and ‘gamer’ as professions, so that they can connect to banks to get loans to support their activities,” Tsamara said, adding that she would also propose to allow students holding Indonesian Smart Cards to be given internet quotas to download necessary books and materials to support their education.

“Their parents are often burdened because they have to buy new books every year. These digital books would be more efficient and environmentally friendly,” she said.

Hidayat did not immediately respond to The Jakarta Post’s request for an interview.

In Dapil 1, 2.02 million voters have 91 candidates to choose from for six available seats in the House. The prominent figures include Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi, who is also a National Awakening Party (PKB) politician, Habiburokhman of the Gerindra Party, Putra Nababan of the PDI-P and Eko Hendro Purnomo, aka Eko Patrio, of PAN, who is an incumbent.

Putra, a former journalist, said that what he could offer Jakartans was to provide a platform that would allow him to meet and listen to their problems, particularly from the younger generations, and to provide solutions.

“The younger generations need support and assistance to pursue their passions,” he said. “Once elected I’ll intensify efforts to provide training to guide them.”

In an era of disruption, when non-conventional jobs are being created, providing an incubator to advance ideas is important, particularly because “unlike in other areas in Jakarta, many youth in East Jakarta are from middle- to low-income families”.

For Habiburokhman, who admits that riding the Islamist wave in the area has helped him gain popularity, improving the healthcare system and creating jobs for youths are two things he would highlight when elected.

“I visit my constituents every day and most of them say that their problems are about the BPJS Kesehatan [the Healthcare and Social Security Agency]. Many of them are complaining about the decreasing quality of the healthcare system,” he said. “Of course a lawmaker alone cannot do much, but we can push BPJS providers to improve services.”

According to a simulation based on a recent survey carried out by Charta Politika involving 800 respondents from each dapil, the aforementioned candidates are the top contenders to enter the House, but only if their parties garner at least 4 percent of the votes nationally.    

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