[9] The Indonesian National Police identified several provinces as being prone to conflicts arising from the results of the elections, namely North Sumatra, West Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, and Papua.

[10] Preparations of the elections began in 2017, with the KPU receiving demographic data by 31 July 2017 and forming local committees by October.

Finalization of the voter list was done by 31 December 2017 and registration for candidates opened the following day, closing at 10 January.

For regions where only a single candidate were registered, 3 additional days were allocated between the 14 and 16 January 2018 for extended registration.

[12] According to the KPU, the election would cost an estimated Rp 10.5 trillion (USD 735 million).