Worries over instability due to religious tension overshadows Jakarta election run-off

Record ID: 645402

  • Title: Worries over instability due to religious tension overshadows Jakarta election run-off
  • Date: 17th April 2017
  • Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (FILE - FEBRUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BASWEDAN, SPEAKING TO MUSLIMS IN MOSQUE BANNER SHOWING PHOTO OF BASWEDAN AND HIS RUNNING MATE, SANDIAGO UNO
  • Embargoed: 1st May 2017 08:12
  • Keywords: Indonesia election Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama Anies Baswedan islamist
  • Location: JAKARTA, SUKOHARJO, INDONESIA
  • City: JAKARTA, SUKOHARJO, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0036CSDL51
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: First-time voter Asti Kusuma is facing a tough decision in a hard-fought vote for Jakarta's new governor ahead of the run off polls which will be held on Wednesday (April 19), testing Indonesian pluralism.
    As one of the over seven million voters due to cast ballots, Kusuma is concerned that instability and religious tensions stoked by a divisive campaign may continue whoever wins the high-profile post.
    It is an unspoken fear haunting people in the Indonesian capital where the majority practises a moderate Islam.
    The election campaign is said to be the most divisive in the city's history. It has been marred by religious and ethnic tension over the blasphemy trial of the incumbent Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is accused of insulting Islam.
    Thousands of Muslims, led by hardline groups, have since held mass rallies to call for Purnama to be sacked, and to urge voters not to elect a non-Muslim.
    Opinion polls showed Purnama, popularly known as "Ahok", had 46.9 percent of the sample vote, trailing one percent behind his Muslim rival Anies Baswedan.
    The Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) survey of 800 respondents showed Baswedan enjoyed support primarily because of his Islamic faith, while Purnama was popular due to his office track record.
    Conservative Muslims who threw their support behind eliminated candidate Agus Yudhoyono, the son of a former president, in the first round are likely to vote for Baswedan, political analysts have predicted.
    Former education minister Baswedan has been criticized for meeting the leader of hardline Islamic group during a campaign but has denied pursuing Islamists votes in the runoff.
    The closeness of the race has sparked concerns of voting manipulation by both sides and abuse of process. A decision to delay Purnama's trial last week was seized on by his opponents with hardline Muslim group, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), vowing a continuation of protests and a "revolution" if Purnama wins.
    President Joko Widodo has called for calm in both camps saying that religion should not be politicized.
    Purnama, who replaced Widodo in 2014 as Jakarta governor after serving as his deputy, enjoyed soaring popularity as he made gains fixing the decrepit infrastructure, chronic flooding and endemic corruption in Indonesia's traffic-clogged capital.
    The successful candidate needs a simple majority to win.
    Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's 250 million population is Muslim, but the country recognizes six religions and is home to sizeable communities of Christians, Hindus and those adhering to traditional beliefs.
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