These regional head elections will be the second battlefront between the incumbent/incoming regime versus whatever opposition that has been reluctantly forming after Prabowo Subianto's decisive victory in the Feb. 14 presidential election.

A few key regions in particular will gain much of the national attention, as these prominent and vital battlegrounds will be instrumental in being extensions or obstacles to the central government’s policies and agenda. They will also serve as optics that will either impress support or critical pushback against the central government. A critical Jakarta governor that positions him/herself as opposition for example will provide a counterbalance to the regime to not run its policies unchecked.

As seen in the past few months there was heavy maneuvering by the incumbent regime, the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM), and the so-called opposition to place their own chest pieces, particularly in strategic areas, including Jakarta, North Sumatra, West Java and Central Java. Yet on the ground in each region it is rather confusing, as alliances and the battle lines are not neatly drawn. There is much crisscrossing of candidates and political party alliances.

One particularly interesting case that seems to have emerge as of late is the potential second run-off between Anies Baswedan and Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama vying for their second terms as Jakarta governor.

Several surveys placing Ahok with an electability of 20 percent, somewhat close behind Anies, have given him the opportunity to push for what seems to be his desire: to run again for governor of Jakarta.

This possible contestation certainly creates much buzz and to some extent worry and the bringing up of past trauma, considering the extremely heated contestation between Ahok and Anies in 2017. Both candidates do not have a ticket yet.