(USA TODAY) Elected official now faces AKARTA, Indonesia — The Christian governor of the capital in this mostly Muslim country lost a runoff election Wednesday that was filled with religious and ethnic tensions.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is of Chinese heritage, trailed former education minister Anies Baswedan by at least 10 percentage points, with more than 80% of the ballots counted.

Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, faces a blasphemy charge for insulting the Quran. In recent months, hardline Muslim groups took to the streets and social media to advise against voting against a non-Muslim.</s>Former cabinet minister beats incumbent governor, on trial for blasphemy, after religiously divisive campaign.

Jakarta's incumbent Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has conceded defeat in the race to become the city's new governor after unofficial results showed former Indonesian education minister taking the polls.

So-called quick counts by 10 research companies on Wednesday showed Anies Baswedan, a former cabinet minister, winning 58 percent of votes in the head-to-head vote, with 100 percent of ballots counted.

The official results will be announced by the national elections commission early May.

In his concession speech, Purnama, also known as Ahok, urged his supporters to stay calm.

"To our supporters, I know you are sad, but this is the will of God," Purnama said.

"We still have six months to finish our homework and we will do our best," he said, referring to his time left in office.

The vote followed a campaign that opened religious and racial divides in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Purnama was Jakarta's first Christian governor in half a century and the first ethnically Chinese governor.

He had been popular with middle-class Jakartans for his efforts to stamp out corruption and make the overflowing polluted city more livable. But his brash manner and evictions of slum communities alienated many in the city of 10 million.

He is on trial for blasphemy. In recent months, hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have protested against him in the capital, deriding his Chinese ancestry and calling for him to be imprisoned or killed.

On Thursday, prosecutors will make their sentencing demand in Purnama's trial.

Blasphemy is a criminal offence in Indonesia and punishable by up to five years in prison.

Baswedan, a highly educated Muslim politician, capitalised on the backlash against Purnama by courting the support of conservative religious leaders and figures on the radical fringe who opposed electing a non-Muslim.

The polarising campaign has given Indonesia's conservative Muslim groups a national stage.

Purnama won the first round in February but not by a big enough margin to avoid a runoff.</s>Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama takes his seat for his court hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2017.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Beaumont Enterprise.</s>Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Purnama looked set to win but could not get enough votes in the first round

Jakarta's first Christian governor has conceded defeat to a Muslim former government minister in a vote seen as a test of Indonesia's secular identity.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama congratulated his rival after exit polls showed Anies Rasyid Baswedan clearly ahead.

Critics of Mr Purnama had accused him of blasphemy, heightening racial and religious tensions. Mr Baswedan was accused of courting hardliners.

The new mayor takes office in October. Official results come in May.

"We now will come together and forget this campaign. Jakarta is home for all of us," Mr Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, said in a nationally televised news conference.

"We understand that our supporters are disappointed. But don't dwell on it."

Mr Baswedan hinted he would try to heal divisions, saying: "We celebrate diversity... We are all ready to work together again."

Who is Jakarta's new governor?

Image copyright Reuters

Anies Baswedan is a respected academic and a former university rector, who studied in the US under a Fulbright scholarship

Known to be a moderate Muslim, but attracted criticism when he met publicly with Islamist groups during his campaign. His team insists he remains a pluralist

Former education and culture minister dropped from President Joko Widodo's cabinet last year in a reshuffle

Has pledged to improve public education, contain living costs and end forced evictions

Hardline Islamist groups say Mr Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, insulted a Koranic verse during a campaign speech and have rallied large crowds against him in recent months. He is now on trial for blasphemy, which he denies.

Correspondents say this made the election a choice between secularism and a growing hardline Islamist movement.

How did polling day unfold?

The run-off election between the two men came after no candidate secured more than half the votes in the first round.

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Mr Baswedan (centre) is a former education minister

Shortly after polls closed, unofficial counts by private polling companies showed Mr Baswedan had secured a strong lead, with a margin in the double digits.

Police said the election proceeded "smoothly and safely with no significant disruption". They had warned against voter intimidation.

Image caption Convoys of special military police were put on standby as well

A coalition of hardline Islamic groups supporting Mr Basedan had previously said it would send at least 100 activists to each polling station to monitor voting. But correspondents said they had a very limited presence.

Mr Purnama voted with his family in north Jakarta early on Wednesday morning and urged voters not to be afraid.

Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders Front which has been leading protests against Mr Purnama, also cast his vote.

Asked by the BBC if his group was damaging Indonesia's pluralist democracy, he said: "Democracy doesn't stop someone from voting for a person from the same religion as you.... Christian vote for Christian, Muslims vote for Muslim."

Image caption Rizieq Shihab (left) is the leader of the Islamic Defenders Front

The election has also seen anti-Chinese sentiment, sparking unease in a country that has seen violence against its Chinese minority in the past.

A number of Chinese Indonesians who turned up to vote told the BBC that they had not been intimidated.

"Politics is cruel. There will be threats, physically or verbally. But I still feel comfortable even though I'm of Chinese descent... So far they only scream out hatred but haven't really acted on it," one voter, Rudi Irmawan, told the BBC.

Image caption Chinese voters were seen at several polling stations

What is the controversy about?

Mr Purnama was accused last year of insulting a Koranic verse during a campaign speech, which he has denied, saying his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using the Koran against him.

Hardline Islamists have cited that verse from the Koran to support an argument that Muslims should not vote for a non-Muslim leader.

Image caption The hardline Islamist Tamasya Al Maidah group sent activists to polling stations, but their presence was limited

If convicted, Mr Purnama faces a maximum five-year jail sentence. His trial is due to resume on Thursday.

How has it affected the outcome?

Observers say the controversy clearly hurt Mr Purnama's chances. Once considered the clear frontrunner, he won the first round of the election in February with only 43% of the vote, while Mr Baswedan had 40%.

The Jakarta Post has described the campaign as "the dirtiest, most polarising and most divisive the nation has ever seen".

Indonesia is the world's most-populous Muslim country. About 85% of its population are Muslim, but the country officially respects six religions.</s>Ahok is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a pas... . Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama arrives for his court hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2017.

Start the conversation, or Read more at News9 Oklahoma City.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Prosecutors on Thursday recommended two years of probation for the minority Christian governor of the Indonesian capital who is on trial for blaspheming the Quran.

The relatively light sentencing demand comes a day after Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama was swept out of office by a landslide election victory for a Muslim rival backed by conservative clerics.

The maximum penalty for blasphemy in Muslim-majority Indonesia is five years in prison. Prosecutors recommended one year prison if Ahok violates his probation.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama takes his seat for his court hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2017. Ahok is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, Pool)

Ahok was accused of blasphemy last year when a video surfaced of him telling voters they were being deceived if they believed a specific verse in the Quran prohibited Muslims from electing a non-Muslim as leader.

Hard-line Islamic groups attracted hundreds of thousands to anti-Ahok protests in Jakarta, shaking the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama arrives for his court hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2017. Ahok is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, Pool)

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama takes his seat for his court hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2017. Ahok is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, Pool)</s>Preliminary election results show the minority Christian governor of the Indonesian capital has been resoundingly defeated by his Muslim challenger after a campaign that highlighted the country's religious and racial divides.

So called "quick counts" by 10 research companies show former Cabinet minister Anies Baswedan winning between 55 and 60 percent of votes with more than half of ballots counted.

Incumbent Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama is on trial for blasphemy and hundreds of thousands protested against him in Jakarta, deriding his Chinese ancestry and calling for him to be imprisoned or killed.

Baswedan courted the support of conservative clerics who opposed electing a non-Muslim.

The polarizing campaign has undermined Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.</s>Voters in the Indonesian capital Jakarta will elect a governor after a campaign which has heightened religious and racial tensions.

Mr Purnama won the first round in February with 43% of the vote, while Mr Baswedan had 40%.

Mr Purnama is currently on trial on blasphemy charges.

He is accused of mocking a verse in the Koran.

The verse had been used by his opponents in the world's most-populous Muslim country to argue that Muslims should not vote for a non-Muslim leader.

Mr Purnama, or "Ahok" denies blasphemy, saying his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using the Koran against him.

If convicted, he faces a maximum five-year jail sentence, though could still govern while appeals are heard.

During the campaign, hundreds of thousands of people took part in protest rallies against Mr Purnama.

A coalition of hardline Islamic groups that supports Mr Basedan says it is deploying at least 100 monitors at each polling station across the capital.

Police have warned that any physical or psychological intimidation is illegal, while President Joko Widodo has called for calm.

The Jakarta Post has described the campaign as "the dirtiest, most polarising and most divisive the nation has ever seen".

This election is being seen as a choice between the secular policies Indonesia has practised since independence and a hardline political Islam that has strengthened in recent years, the BBC's Rebecca Henschke in Jakarta reports.

Mr Purnama is the first Christian and minority ethnic Chinese leader of Jakarta in over 50 years.

He stepped into the role from the deputy post without election in 2014, when his predecessor, Mr Widodo, became president.

About 85% of Indonesia's population are Muslim, but the country officially respects six religions.
• How checked shirts became a political symbol in Jakarta</s>In the end the opinion polls couldn't have been more wrong, giving false hope to his supporters.

The so-called "quick count" of Wednesday's votes showed Jakarta's Christian Governor Basuki Tjajaka Purnama, better known as Ahok, didn't come close to winning after a campaign that had thrown everything at him.

"Don't be sad, God gave the power and God takes it," Ahok told his supporters on Wednesday evening.

At a five-star hotel in the centre of the capital, his supporters gathered — many of them wept.

"I'm really sad because Ahok's losing means the loss of democracy," one woman told the ABC.

Ahok's supporters say the once widely popular Christian Governor's fall from grace came at the hands of trumped-up blasphemy charges against him.

Throughout the campaign he's been on trial for insulting Islam after comments he made about the Koran while arguing against the notion that Muslims should not vote for non-Muslim leaders.

The likely victor, Muslim Anies Baswedan has been known for his moderate approach to Islam, but undoubtedly courted the extreme Islamic vote during the campaign.

The one-time education and cultural minister's popularity appeared to improve after meeting Habib Rizieq, the head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), who led mass demonstrations against the Christian Governor last year.

Jakartans will need to keep him to his word because — far from pluralism — the win has also served to embolden ultra conservative groups who want sharia law implemented across Indonesia, and Ahok jailed for the age-old, dated and draconian offence of blasphemy.

They've long argued that Muslims cannot be led by Christians, and now they have won.

Although the official figures won't be known for some weeks the quick counts, conducted by polling agencies, research companies and television stations, have historically proven accurate.

Habib Rizieq, the head of FPI that over decades has been known for hate crimes and violence, thanked God for the election result announcing his followers are ready if Ahok is not also jailed — a threat to stability once again.

Ahok, who was so popular he would likely have won the election in a landslide before the blasphemy charges were brought, is facing up to five years in jail.

If the five judges on the North Jakarta District Court rule against him, then it's clear that the moderate approach to Islam Indonesia is known for is being deeply tested.

The question is: What's President Joko Widodo going to do about it?

This election has been a proxy battle for the Presidential campaign due in 2019.

Unless moves are made to avert it, Islamic conservatism could play as big a role then.

Ahok had ambitions to become Indonesia's first Christian leader.

It appears the majority Muslim nation isn't quite ready for that.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia - Residents of the Indonesian capital are electing a governor Wednesday after a polarizing campaign that undermined the country's reputation for practicing a tolerant form of Islam. The runoff election pits the minority Christian incumbent, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, against a former Cabinet minister, Anies Baswedan, who has courted the support of conservative clerics who oppose electing a non-Muslim.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Washington Post.
Jakarta's current governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, concedes to Muslim former government minister Anies Baswedan.