[5] Under regulations, candidates are required to secure the support of a political party or a coalition thereof comprising at least 20 seats in the regional house.

Alternatively, independent candidates may run provided they are capable of securing support from 6.5 percent of the total voter population (1,781,606) in form of photocopied ID cards subject to verification by the local committee although no candidates expressing interest managed to do this.

[10] PPP, which had earlier submitted possible running mates for Ganjar, officially backed the pair on 9 January.

[13][14][15] The coalition of Gerindra, PKS and PAN declared Sudirman Said, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources between 2014-2016, as their gubernatorial candidate on 27 December 2017.

[17] PKB, which initially supported Ganjar, threw its weight behind Said and placed their cadre Ida Fauziyah as his running mate.