Indonesia's Christian Governor Unbowed After Election Loss, Believes in God's Purpose
Indonesia's Christian governor remains optimistic despite his electoral defeat, believing that the vote result was God's handiwork and that God has a special plan for him.
Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, congratulated the winner of the second round of the gubernatorial election, former Minister of Education and Culture Anias Rasyid Baswedan, Tempo reported.
Although his defeat was a disappointment, Ahok called on his supporters to accept the results, saying, "God gives the power, and God takes it. No one can have it without His permission."
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He recalled that he also lost in a gubernatorial election in 2007 but was later appointed as Jakarta governor.
"I told my supporters not to be sad. God always knows what's best ... It's not bad at all," Ahok said.
His supporters still could not believe that he lost the election considering his strong popularity among Muslims and Christians alike because of his steadfast stand against corruption and the various projects he launched that benefited the residents of the Indonesian capital.
In contrast, Baswedan, the gubernatorial election winner, was removed from his cabinet position after Indonesia's anti-corruption body accused him of misappropriating department funds. He also faces allegations of violating Indonesia's campaign election laws, according to CBN News Asia Correspondent Lucille Talusan.
Analysts said what brought Ahok down was his politically motivated blasphemy trial, which adversely affected his favorability ratings.
Talusan said many Indonesians view his trial and election loss as setbacks for democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
"The radical Muslims have won," she said. "They have proven they have strength and power."
Christians in Jakarta, the most populous city in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, are now left staring at an uncertain future, as CP earlier reported. According to the latest official census, taken in 2010, of Jakarta's 9.6 million inhabitants, 1 million belong to the Christian faith.
"The challenge now as we come out of this election ... is just the challenge of, what political rights are Christians going to have moving forward? Was this simply a political election where one person put forward their ideas, another person put forward their ideas, and the voters went for the other guy?" Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs USA wrote in an article for Mission Network News on Thursday.
"Or how much did it play into the fact that this was a Christian and that radical Muslims within Indonesia are saying, 'We shouldn't have a Christian in this leadership role. As a Muslim, you should vote for a Muslim, regardless of what their politics are.'"
