Jakarta. Independent candidate Dharma Pongrekun has officially secured the necessary requirement to enter the 2024 Jakarta gubernatorial race.

Dharma and his running mate, Kun Wardhana, are expected to be the primary challengers to the strong candidate duo of Ridwan Kamil and Suswono, who are supported by a coalition of 12 political parties.

In contrast, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) is unlikely to field its own candidate, as the party currently holds only 15 seats in the Jakarta Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD), falling short of the 22 seats required to nominate a contender.

"We have issued the decision confirming the fulfillment of support requirements for the candidate pair Dharma Pongrekun and Kun Wardhana," Jakarta Provincial Election Commission (KPU) Chairman Wahyu Dinata announced late Monday.

Earlier in the day, the KPU had delayed the decision on Dharma-Kun’s candidacy. The plenary meeting, initially postponed until 11:00 p.m., was intended to allow time for voters whose identification numbers (NIK) were allegedly misused by the candidates to report the issue.

Jakarta KPU member Astri Megatari explained that the delay was necessary to give the public an opportunity to file complaints at designated posts established by the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and KPU.

Dharma Pongrekun, born on January 12, 1966, in Palu, Central Sulawesi, is a retired police officer who achieved the rank of Commissioner General. He began his career after graduating from the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy (Akabri) in 1988 and later earned a degree from the Police Science College (STIK).

Dharma has extensive experience in criminal investigations, holding key positions such as Deputy Director of General Crime at Bareskrim and Director of Narcotics Crime. He also served as Deputy Head of the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) in 2019.

In addition to his law enforcement career, Dharma pursued further education, earning a Master’s degree in Law from Gadjah Mada University and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from MBC University Depok in 2023.