Former Indonesian education minister Anies Baswedan (centre) holds the hand of Gerindra party chief Prabowo Subianto (right) as Baswedan running mate Sandiaga Uno (left) talks to reporters after voting in the Jakarta governor election in Jakarta, IndonesiJAKARTA, April 19 — A former Indonesian education minister won the race for Jakarta governor today after a polarising campaign that cast a shadow over Indonesia’s reputation for practicing a tolerant form of 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. Tight security at polling stations

Security will be tight across the capital as Jakartans head to the polls, with one police officer and one solider stationed at each of the 13,000 polling stations to ensure voters can vote freely without intimidation. JAKARTA: Indonesian prosecutors called on Thursday (Apr 20) for Jakarta's Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, to be jailed for one year on blasphemy charges, in a trial that is seen as a test of the Muslim-majority nation's religious tolerance. The allegations drew hundreds of thousands of conservative Muslims onto the streets of Jakarta in major protests last year, and led to Purnama - known by his nickname Ahok - being put on trial for blasphemy in a case critics see as politically motivated.
Indonesian voters in Jakarta return to the polls for the second round of a gubernatorial election between incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, whose alleged blasphemy sparked mass protests in November, and Anies Baswedan. Opinion polls give Baswedan a narrow lead.