Ridwan Max Sijabat and Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – With little political backing, governor hopeful Robert Edison Siahaan, who is Javanese, and his Batak running mate, Suherdi, are playing the ethnic card in this multi-ethnic province.

Hitler Siahaan, a member of the Siahaan-Suherdi campaign, said the duo represented the two major ethnic communities in the province. He said the Javanese and Bataks were an integral part of North Sumatran culture and constituted 55 percent of the 12.8 million population.

"By running in the first ever direct governor election, the pair are showing the harmony between Batak and Javanese cultures," he said at a Batak-style thanksgiving ceremony here on Friday.

"A majority of voters will vote for the pair to lead the province over the next five years, but mainly to spur economic development to improve the standard of living," he said.

During the ceremony, the Butar-Butars, a large family in the province, presented the pair with Batak food and ulos (traditional Batak cloth) as a symbol of their political support.

Hitler said he had won political support for the pair from the province's Batak and Javanese communities. He said his team had arranged a series of meetings with the two ethnic groups to be held during the three-week campaign, running until April 12.

People from other ethnic groups are expected to support the pair because of their political programs to aid religious and ethnic tolerance and to facilitate true democracy for the future, Hitler said.

Siahaan is the inactive mayor of Pematang Siantar and chairman of the Democratic Party (PD) branch in the city. Suherdi, who chairs the Pujakesuma (ethnic Javanese born in Sumatra) Association, is also the chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) chapter in the province. The two were nominated by a coalition of eight minority parties, having 19 percent of seats in the province's regency and municipal legislatures.

The eight parties are PKB, Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), New Indonesian Party (PIB), Nationhood Democrat Party (PNDK), Pioneer Party (Pelopor), Regional Unity Party (PPD), Marhaenist Nationalist Party (PNI Marhaenis) and the United Democratic Labor Party (PBSD).

Siahaan has vowed to revitalize agriculture, education and labor to improve people's skills and standard of living if elected on April 16.

"All barren areas, including the land in the province's west coast, will be irrigated and land ownership will be reformed to allow peasants to have their farmland. Labor conditions in the province will be repaired to improve workers' purchasing power," said Siahaan to strong applause.

Siahaan is competing with Golkar's Ali Umri, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)'s Tri Tamtomo, National Mandate Party (PAN)-led coalition's Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe and United Development Party-led coalition's Syamsul Arifin.