ICC Note:
While awaiting his charge for blasphemy against the Qur’an, Chinese Christian Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known otherwise as Ahok, continues his campaign to be Jakarta’s governor. According to unofficial results from the balloting in Jakarta, he holds a small lead over his nearest challenger. However, in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, he is unlikely to win more than half of the votes. If the official results confirm his voting numbers, a runoff will be held April 18.   
02/16/2017 Indonesia (New York Times) – The Christian governor of the capital of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, has been fighting for his political life in an election campaign charged with religious and ethnic undertones. After voters went to the polls Wednesday, it appeared that he would have to fight a little longer.
Unofficial results from the balloting in Jakarta, the capital, indicated that the governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, held a small lead over his nearest challenger but was unlikely to win more than half of the vote. If the official results confirm that, a runoff will be held April 18.
Mr. Basuki, who is ethnic Chinese, has been hobbled by a criminal trial on a charge of blasphemy against Islam, in connection with remarks about a Quran verse that he made last year.
Mr. Basuki and his supporters say the court case, which was preceded by mass protests in the capital by Islamists demanding that he be prosecuted or even lynched, was orchestrated by political opponents to sabotage his election campaign. Analysts also saw the furor over Mr. Basuki’s remarks as an attempt to weaken President Joko Widodo, a key ally of the governor who is expected to seek a second term in 2019.
Mr. Basuki, widely known by his nickname, Ahok, is only the second non-Muslim governor of Jakarta, and if he wins, he will be the first non-Muslim to be elected to the post directly. He was elevated from deputy governor in 2014 after Mr. Joko, his predecessor, was elected president.
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