New Jakarta governor inaugurated after divisive election

Accra, Oct. 16, (dpa/GNA) - Former education minister Anies Baswedan took office as the Indonesian capital's new governor on Monday after a tense and divisive election.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo swore in Baswedan as governor in Jakarta, a city of 10 million people, in a ceremony at the presidential palace.

Baswedan, 48, won the gubernatorial election in April, defeating then-incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama after a campaign marred by religious and ethnic tensions.

In the run-up to the election, Purnama, the city's first ethnic Chinese governor who is also a Christian, was accused of insulting Islam for remarks he made about the Koran last year.

He went on trial for blasphemy after a series of large protests by conservative Muslims demanding his prosecution. Critics said the charges were trumped up.

Purnama, once a clear favourite for a second term, was sentenced to two yars in prison a month after losing the election.

Critics accused the US-educated Baswedan of capitalizing on Purnama's predicament to win the votes of Muslim conservatives.

Support for Baswedan rose after he met one of the leaders of the anti-Purnama protests, firebrand cleric Muhammad Rizieq Shihab.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-majority country but Christians make up about 10 per cent of the population.

GNA

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