INDONESIA

Unofficial vote counts indicate the election for governor of Jakarta will proceed to a second round in April with no candidate getting more than 50% in last Wednesday’s vote. Most of the quick counts carried out by polling organisations give a slim lead to the incumbent “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, a minority Christian whose campaign was hurt by blasphemy charges, over Anies Rasyid Baswedan. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of a former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was a distant third. The campaign was married by religious intolerance and racial bigotry that have undermined Indonesia’s reputation for moderation.