Nearly 50 million Indonesians are set to vote on Wednesday in scores of regional elections but the most closely watched is in the capital, Jakarta, where campaigning for the post of governor has inflamed religious tension.
Polls will open first in the east of the sprawling archipelago. In all, 101 elections will be held in the world's third-most populous democracy, for provincial, city and district chiefs.
In Jakarta, where the job of governor can be a springboard to the presidency, three candidates are competing: the Christian, ethnic Chinese incumbent, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, and two Muslim candidates.
Mudslinging, political intrigue and rising hardline Islamist sentiment have overshadowed the Jakarta campaign, and raised questions about the role of religion in politics.
Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population but it enshrines religious diversity in an officially secular system.
Purnama, or Ahok as he is commonly known, is on trial on a charge of insulting the Koran, a case that has brought thousands of Muslims onto the streets, urging voters to shun a non-Muslim as leader.
He denies the charge and has been faring well in opinion polls, which analysts attribute to his record of improving the bureaucracy and taking steps to ease horrendous traffic jams and flooding.
His rivals are Agus Yudhoyono, a son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and former education minister Anies Baswedan.
Purnama was a deputy to President Joko Widodo when he was the previous Jakarta governor and Widodo's party is backing him.
Baswedan is backed by a former general who Widodo beat in the last presidential election in 2014, Prabowo Subianto, who is promising a comeback to the national stage.
The Jakarta vote is being widely seen as a proxy battle for the next presidential election, due in 2019.
The competition has been particularly bitter between Purnama's camp and that of Yudhoyono. Former president Yudhoyono said on Twitter on Tuesday that various figures were trying to sabotage his son's chances.
Police will deploy 75,000 personnel across the country with 16,000 on duty in Jakarta, where concern lingers over the possibility of hardline Muslim groups taking to the streets to agitate against Purnama.
Some Islamist groups have said they will send members to polling stations to "safeguard" the vote.
"We will send trained volunteers to at least 13,000 polling stations to watch as the votes are counted," said Muhammad al Khaththath of the Islamic People's Forum, which was among the organisers of the anti-Purnama rallies.
"We are sure that in this situation, a Muslim will win," he said.
Polling stations will close by 0600 GMT. Quick counts, expected shortly after, are tallies of votes by private polling firms at a sample of voting booths across the city.
The General Elections Commission is expected to announce official results after about two weeks.
If no candidate achieves a majority in the first round in any provincial vote, including Jakarta, a runoff is expected in May between the two candidates securing the most votes.
Reuters
Wed Feb 15 2017
Election workers prepare voting booths for the election to vote governor at Muara Baru flat in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 14, 2017. REUTERS
88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara dapat pengiktirafan JAKIM
Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) telah memberikan pengiktirafan kepada 88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara setakat Mei tahun ini.
eWarga Emas bentuk sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan berkesan, bersepadu - Noraini
Portal sistem warga emas (eWarga Emas) dibangunkan bagi membentuk sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan warga emas yang berkesan dan bersepadu.
MITRA lulus lebih RM95 juta untuk 11 program masyarakat India
Kesemua program yang dalam pelaksanaan itu memberi tumpuan kepada usaha memperkasakan sosioekonomi komuniti India dalam negara.
Kestabilan sosiopolitik Sabah bolehkan agihan ekonomi saksama - Juhar
Smber daya, kekayaan alam semula jadi dan potensi ekonomi dalam masyarakat dapat dibahagi dengan cara memberi peluang sama kepada rakyat.
Kenanga jangka OPR stabil 3.0 peratus pada 2025
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd menjangka Kadar Dasar Semalaman (OPR) kekal stabil pada 3.0 peratus sepanjang 2025.
Johor sasar jumlah ternakan cecah 200,000 ekor pada 2027
Johor menyasarkan jumlah ternakan di negeri ini mencapai hingga 200,000 ekor pada 2027 setelah berjaya mencapai jumlah pengeluaran ternakan sebanyak 152,000 ekor hingga bulan lepas.
Hargai warga emas melalui penjagaan, hormat dan penglibatan - Lee Lam Thye
Lee Lam Thye menekankan keperluan mendesak untuk menghargai warga emas melalui penjagaan, hormat, dan penglibatan yang lebih baik.
Malaysia perlu bersedia penuhi keperluan TBB yang semakin meningkat - Fadillah
Keperluan tenaga boleh baharu (TBB) di negara ini semakin meningkat seiring dengan keyakinan pelabur asing khususnya untuk mewujudkan pusat-pusat data.
Belanjawan 2025: Kesalinghubungan internet di sekolah, kampus jadi keutamaan - Fahmi
Fahmi berkata ia termasuk isu Internet di kawasan terpencil, pedalaman dan pulau-pulau dalam memastikan akses Internet berkelajuan tinggi lebih meluas.
Pelajar tahfiz perlu teroka bidang teknologi
Kira-kira 200,000 pelajar tahfiz di negara ini, perlu dipastikan untuk mempunyai kemampuan dan peluang menjadi tenaga penggerak kepada umat Islam Malaysia dalam meneroka bidang yang dahulu dilihat sebagai asing., tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Bebas dari penjara, Ahok tukar nama dan bakal kahwin
Beliau mahu menjenamakan semula personalitinya dengan anggilan BTP (singkatan bagi Basuki Tjahaja Purnama).
Ahok kekal dalam penjara selepas rayuan ditolak mahkamah Indonesia
Jurucakap mahkamah pada Isnin memberitahu, ahli politik itu akan terus menjalani hukuman penjara dua tahun.
Bekas Gabenor Jakarta diberi pengampunan khusus sempena Krismas
Ahok yang sedang menjalani hukuman penjara dua tahun diberikan pengampunan khusus untuk berada di luar penjara bagi menyambut perayaan Krismas Isnin lalu.
Isu Ahok: Media Malaysia, antarabangsa suarakan kebimbangan
Data persepsi ini merupakan hasil tinjauan oleh Indonesia Indicator melibatkan 128 laporan daripada 78 media berbahasa Inggeris di Asia, Amerika Syarikat, UK, Australia dan New Zealand.
Pilkada Jakarta: Anies mendahului dalam kiraan pantas, keputusan rasmi awal Mei
Sama ada Ahok mahupun Anies, perlu keputusan majoriti mudah untuk menang, dan suruhanjaya pilihan raya akan mengumumkan keputusan rasmi pada awal Mei.
Pilihan raya Jakarta diadakan dua pusingan
Seperti yang diduga, Pilihan Raya Ketua Daerah (Pilkada) bagi Daerah Khusus Jakarta akan berlangsung secara dua pusingan ekoran tiada calon yang melepasi undi majoriti melebihi 50 peratus.
Pilkada DKI Jakarta: Ahok mendahului dalam pengiraan awal
Kesemua lima badan pengiraan undian awal menunjukkan Basuki Tjahaja Purnama atau Ahok mendahului dua lagi pasangan lain.
Pilkada: Pengundi Indonesia keluar memilih gabenor, ketua daerah
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama atau Ahok berdepan dengan dua pencabar Muslim, sekali gus mencetus polemik agama dan menguji kepatuhan konsep pluralisme dan kesederhanaan di Jakarta.
Ribuan berhimpun di Masjid Istiqlal, seru pemilihan Gabenor Jakarta beragama Islam
Jutaan penduduk Jakarta akan ke peti undi pada Rabu minggu depan untuk memilih gabenor baharu dalam satu pertandingan sengit.
'Saya rela ditangkap dan dipenjara jika bersalah' - Ahok
Gabenor Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama berkata beliau sebenarnya telah difitnah.