JAKARTA, Indonesia – 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.
Source: Early results show defeat for Jakarta's Christian governor
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