Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The campaign for Jakarta's gubernatorial election officially kicks off Monday amid gloomy predictions from pundits and naysayers of a very low voter turnout, either because of the low registration rate or threats of a boycott by voters discontented with the system and the limited number of candidates.

Time will tell how accurate the pundits and the surveys are about low voter turnout (one survey this week even put expected turnout at a mere 35 percent), but unless the candidates themselves make an effort to get people to vote on Aug. 8, those predictions could easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Should that happen, it will be a disaster for democracy, and the elected governor will rule for the next five years with little legitimacy. Governing then would be that much more difficult.

It is therefore in the interest of both teams contesting the election – the pairs of Fauzi Bowo and Prijanto, and Adang Daradjatun and Dani Anwar – to ensure that as many people as possible exercise their right to vote on election day.

Other local elections held in Indonesia over the past year or so, and there has been more than 100 in all, have seen reasonable levels of participation of between 65 and 85 percent of registered voters.

The trouble with the predictions for voter turnout in Jakarta is that it is unclear whether they are truly based on credible surveys of potential voters. Let's not forget that not everyone who lives and works in Jakarta automatically has the right to vote. Being the capital of Indonesia, there are many temporary residents and also temporary migrant workers. Many who live and work in Jakarta are actually residents of adjacent districts like Depok, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi.

This explains why the population of Jakarta is officially put at around 9 million, based on the number of Jakarta ID holders. In reality, however, Jakarta's population can reach 12 million, and even 14 to 15 million, during the day when people from adjacent areas come to the city to work and play.

With that in mind, the 5.7 million people who are registered to vote seems a reasonable figure, out of a population of between 8 and 9 million, if we remove those people too young to vote. The figure is also about the same as the number of registered voters for the 2004 national election.

Claims that millions of eligible Jakarta residents are not registered to vote are gross exaggerations. We can therefore eliminate this factor as a reason for a poor voter turnout next month.

It's a different story with voter discontent, which could lead to some sort of mass boycott of the election, or worse, a voter revolt. There was certainly a lot of discontent when it became clear only two candidates would be contesting the election.

Other, more popular, figures like politician Sarwono Kusumaatmadja or former minister and Army general Agum Gumelar, or actor Rano Karno, had been mentioned earlier as possible candidates for the top post in Jakarta, raising the prospect of a festive election.

So it was only natural that many people were disappointed when they learned there were only two candidates, neither a popular public figure.

Fauzi Bowo, the incumbent deputy governor who is taking time off to campaign for the governor position, has long been in the shadow of his boss Sutiyoso. Although he is an able and trained bureaucrat, most people know little of his role in Sutiyoso's administration.

Adang Daradjatun is not exactly a figure who would inspire people to vote. His career as a police officer, reaching as high as deputy chief of the National Police, is not that well known, certainly not to make people rush to the polls to vote for him.

Both candidates face the same challenge, so at least we can say we have a level playing field.

It's pointless at this stage to bemoan the limited number of candidates or the absence of independent and popular candidates. The decision has been made, and voters have to settle for these two.

The main challenge for both candidates during the official campaign period these next two weeks is to help voters get to know them enough to feel comfortable voting for them. In a system where voting is not compulsory, not voting is a legitimate option. Undoubtedly, many skeptics will exercise their right not to vote on Aug. 8.

Two weeks is not long enough for anyone to properly acquaint himself with the public, let alone talk about his track record and achievements. If there is one valuable lesson learned from these local elections, it is that the campaign period should be extended to allow voters to become familiar with the candidates.

Tight restrictions were imposed in the past for security reasons, with election rallies tending to be disorderly and even violent. But those days are no more. Most elections we have had since 1999, national and local, have been free of violent incidents. Surely, we can open up the space by now.

Both Fauzi and Adang, however, will have to settle with the two weeks allocated them to make themselves known to voters. It's a tall order, but both have an equal chance. May the best man win.