Run-off election for Jakarta governor may heighten tensions
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A tight and possibly ugly contest is expected in a second round election for governor of the Indonesian capital that will pit the minority Christian incumbent against a former cabinet minister backed by conservative Muslim clerics.
After months of campaigning dominated by religious and racial tensions, none of the three candidates vying to run Muslim-majority Indonesia’s biggest city secured the 50 per cent needed for an outright win, setting the stage for a run-off election in April.
Unofficial counts by research companies show the incumbent Gov Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, whose campaign was hurt by blasphemy charges, won about 43 per cent of Wednesday’s vote. Anies Rasyid Baswedan, a former education minister who courted conservative and hard-line Muslims, trailed by just three points.
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the photogenic son of a former president, was a distant third with about 17 per cent and eliminated from the contest, but how his supporters vote in the run-off will decide the result.