Jakarta’s Christian governor loses to Muslim rival, early results show

Private polls show that Muslim former governor Anies Baswedan, had a strong lead over Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who was fighting for his job while standing trial for blasphemy.

Election workers count ballots at a polling station in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 April 2017 as Indonesians vote in a local election for Jakarta's governor after a bitter campaign with religious tensions following the blasphemy trial involving the incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama. Adi Weda/EPAShow less

JAKARTA // The Christian governor of the Indonesian capital lost heavily to a Muslim former government minister in an election run-off, private polls indicated on Wednesday, after a divisive battle that has damaged Indonesia’s reputation as a bastion of tolerant Islam.

Anies Baswedan, who was accused of pandering to hardliners to win votes, and his supporters cheered as news came through that surveys showed him winning by over 10 percentage points against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who was fighting for his job while standing trial for blasphemy.

Official results are not expected until early May but the private pollsters, who count a sample of votes, are usually accurate.

The vote was seen as a test of whether the moderate Islam traditionally practised in the world’s most populous Muslim country is under threat from hardliners, who have led a series of mass demonstrations against Mr Purnama over allegations he insulted the Quran.

It came against a backdrop of rising religious intolerance that has tainted the image of the diverse Indonesian archipelago as a pluralistic country in recent years, with a surge in attacks on minorities.

Mr Baswedan, 47, a former education minister, thanked Jakarta’s voters for supporting him and hinted that he would move to heal the divisions in the capital after the bitter poll, if his victory was confirmed.

“We celebrate diversity ... We are all ready to work together again,” he said.

Mr Purnama, the city’s first non-Muslim governor for half a century and the first ethnic Chinese leader of Jakarta, congratulated Mr Baswedan and his running mate.

“We are all the same, we want a good Jakarta, because it is our home,” he said.

The defeat is also a blow for president Joko Widodo, whose party had backed Mr Purnama.

The incumbent had long been a shoo-in to win re-election after gaining popularity due to his determined efforts to clean up Jakarta.

But the governor – known by his nickname Ahok – lost a once-unassailable lead after a controversy erupted last year over claims that he had insulted Islam, a grave charge in Indonesia.

His troubles began in September when he lightheartedly said his rivals were tricking people into voting against him by using a Quranic verse, which some interpret as meaning Muslims should only choose Muslim leaders.

The allegations drew hundreds of thousands of conservative Muslims onto the streets of Jakarta in major protests, and led to Mr Purnama being put on trial for blasphemy in a case critics see as politically motivated.

Mr Purnama won in the election’s first round in February but Mr Baswedan was seen as the favourite in the run-off because the votes from a third, Muslim, candidate who was knocked out were expected to go to him.

More than 7.2 million people were registered to vote in the polls, which are also important as politicians view them as a potential stepping stone to the presidency in 2019.

* Agence France-Presse