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akarta Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama will take up the reins of acting Jakarta governor on Monday because Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo is scheduled to start a period of leave the same day, to focus on campaigning prior to the July 9 presidential election. If the latter is elected, Ahok would most likely lead the city for the remaining three-and-a-half years of the pair'€™s term.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) is scheduled to officially declare the two presidential tickets '€” Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla and Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa '€” on Saturday. Meanwhile, the campaign period for the presidential election will officially kick off on Wednesday.

There is no doubt about Ahok'€™s capacity, integrity and leadership skills. He has shown his effectiveness in addressing various issues, including the city'€™s bureaucratic reform, while Jokowi has been more focused on connecting with the people through, among other things, impromptu visits to many corners of the city.

People have witnessed the strength of the Jokowi and Ahok combination, as the two complement one another as leaders. Jokowi'€™s persuasive style has been effective in convincing citizens about his programs. Examples include the time when the Jakarta administration wanted to relocate hundreds of squatters who were occupying state-owned lands near the Pluit reservoir in North Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Ahok'€™s firmness has proven effective in dealing with the city'€™s bureaucrats. The public saw how he pressed officials of Jakarta'€™s Public Works Agency to cut unnecessary allocations in the city budget.

Ahok needs to maintain his firm style when he is fully in charge of the city. This will help him to lead effectively, particularly if he is consistent in enforcing law and order. Many problems, such as the rampant illegal vendors who occupy public facilities, are the result of a lack of firm leadership and inconsistencies from city administrators in enforcing the law.

Ahok will face problems. He, for example, has strained relations with most of the city councilors. Therefore, without renouncing his leadership style, he needs to be more diplomatic in negotiating with parties outside the Jakarta administration. Ahok certainly needs to establish good relations with the Jakarta City Council because, with its budgetary rights, its councilors could virtually hold his strategic policies hostage.

However, as long as Ahok is seen to be focusing on people'€™s welfare and improving Jakarta, any party seeking to disrupt his policies would have to face the public first. Therefore, the upcoming weeks could be used by Ahok as an '€œinternship'€ period before he is definitively appointed Jakarta governor.

The success of Ahok '€” who has double minority status as a Christian citizen of Chinese descent '€” in leading the capital of the country with the world'€™s largest Muslim population could be a way for Indonesia to prove that its minority groups have equal political rights.

If this political trend continues, Indonesia may not need to wait 200 years, like the US, to have a president from a minority group.