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A group supporting Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s presidential candidacy has officially set itself up as a formal organization, one of its executives said on Monday.

Sihol Manullang, a member of the organization that calls itself the Ranks of Volunteers for Jokowi as President in 2014 (Bara JP) said that the organization established itself at its first congress in Bandung on Saturday.

Election observers have called on political party leaders to do more to prevent poll-related violence from breaking out, following an arson attack in South Sumatra on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s gubernatorial ballot there.

Zulfian S. Rehalat, the executive director of the Jakarta Institute, a think tank, said at a discussion on Wednesday that party elites were aware of the potential for friction from grassroots campaigns escalation into violence, and thus had a responsibility to scale back the tensions.

The graft-ridden Democratic Party remains optimistic in its bid to secure 15 percent of the total votes in the 2014 presidential election, 6 percent less than the total that the party bagged in 2009.

“We are sure that we will reach the 15 percent mark, and maybe even exceed it,” Syarief Hasan, the party’s managing chairman, said on Wednesday.

“Surveys may show lower numbers, but with enough hard work, we’re optimistic about reaching the target.”

Some executives of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have said that the party was considering leaving the government coalition as the party struggles to cope with the fall out of the beef import scandal.

"I really want the PKS leave the coalition," PKS deputy secretary general Fahri Hamzah said on Thursday.

Popular support for Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to run for president next year continues to mount, despite his insistence that he wants to see out his job at City Hall before considering a stab at the State Palace.

The results of a poll released over the weekend put Joko ahead of other potential candidates, with analysts saying he stood a legitimate chance of winning if nominated.

The prospect of the country’s biggest Islamic party being disqualified from next year’s elections should corruption allegations against it prove to be true has sparked a debate among observers.

Tama Satrya Langkun, a researcher with Indonesia Corruption Watch, has argued that the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) could be disbanded if it was proven that some of its funding came from activities tainted by graft.

Many legislative candidates in next year’s election face disqualification because they are registered with more than one political party or in more than one electoral area, the national election body revealed on Tuesday.

“There are at least 24 people who are either registered under two parties … or in two electoral areas, with some even registered in three electoral areas,” said Husni Kamil Manik, chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Activist group says legislative candidates for next year’s ballot are overwhelmingly incumbents and celebrities

Next year’s legislative election is unlikely to yield any dramatic improvement in the quality of members of the House of Representatives, because political parties have selected candidates based on popularity rather than ability, an activist says.

A new survey of first-time voters shows that Golkar party chairman Aburizal Bakrie and founder of the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), Wiranto, hold the most potential to win the 2014 election.

A survey conducted by the National Survey Institute (LSN) found that 18.6 percent of the respondents thought Aburizal was the most suitable figure to lead Indonesia. He was followed closely by Wiranto, who was supported by 16.4 percent of the respondents.