KPU announces candidates for regional elections – Polityka

General Electoral Commission (GEC) offices across the country on Sunday announced the final names of those who will appear on the ballots for the regional elections that kick off the November races.

Much of the country’s attention is focused on densely populated provinces and key battlegrounds on Java, such as Jakarta, which is still seen as a strategic province even though it will soon lose its status as Indonesia’s capital.

The KPU announced three pairs of candidates for the Jakarta race. They included former West Java governor and Golkar Party politician Ridwan Kamil and his running mate Suswono of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the city’s largest party.

Ridwan and Suswono are supported by President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM), which is seeking to repeat its electoral alliance from February’s presidential election in regional elections in key provinces.

Their rivals will be candidates from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in former Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung and former Banten Governor Rano Karno, as well as a pair of independent candidates in retired police general Dharma Pongrekun and academic Kun Wardana.

In West Java, the country’s most populous province, the KPU approved four pairs of candidates for the position of governor.

Former Purwakarta regent Dedi Mulyadi and his vice presidential candidate, former deputy regent Sumedang Erwan Setiawan, are the pair to beat, according to a recent opinion poll. The pair also boast the largest electoral alliance, consisting of the Gerindra Party, the de facto leader of KIM, as well as several KIM members.