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n a speech that marked the end of a roller-coaster tenure that saw the rise and fall of three governors, Djarot Saiful Hidayat spoke on behalf of more individuals than himself at the City Council on Wednesday.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician was indeed the last man standing after a turbulent five-year reign of the party’s politicians in Jakarta.

Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the former Surakarta mayor, was a surprise winner of the 2012 election, an achievement that catapulted him to victory in the presidential election two years later.

His running mate and deputy governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, succeeded him after his ascension to the country’s highest office, but failed to secure reelection earlier this year in a bitterly-contested election that was shrouded by sectarian tensions.

Ahok is currently serving two years in prison after being found guilty of blasphemy on May 17, shortly after the election concluded. The outspoken politician said in a speech in the Thousand Islands regency that some people had been “deceived” by people citing Al-Maidah 51, a Quranic verse some clerics believe prohibits Muslims from electing non-Muslim leaders.

Djarot, Ahok’s deputy governor who was forced to take over the administration after Ahok’s imprisonment, began his speech in front of the city councillors by expressing his gratitude on behalf of his two successors.

“I, on behalf of Pak Jokowi and Pak [Ahok], would like to thank and honor the leaders and members of the Jakarta City Council for your cooperation and participation in realizing Jakarta’s development programs,” he said.

Djarot, who was Ahok’s running mate in his reelection campaign, was known as the softer half of the duo.

With his Javanese demeanor, the former Blitar mayor often provided balance to the expressive and hot-tempered Ahok.

The pair lost their reelection bid to former education minister Anies Baswedan and running mate Sandiaga Uno, a businessman, in a two round election.

Renowned as a Muslim scholar with moderate views, Anies was seen as the more favorable candidate in the election after Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent, was accused of blaspheming against the Quran.

Anies was backed by the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the opposition parties to the backers of the Jokowi administration.

Djarot highlighted that the three PDI-P politicians had succeeded in, among other things, creating a transparent financial system, improving the quality of the city’s neighborhoods and developing mass transportation facilities in the capital.

Djarot explained that the current administration had worked very hard to create a clean, transparent and accountable administration.

With the help of information and communication technology, the administration also rolled out an electronic budgeting system, popularly known as e-budgeting.

The e-budgeting system was first introduced by Jokowi in 2013, but was fully implemented in 2015 under Ahok’s leadership.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) political analyst Arya Fernandes praised Jokowi, Ahok and Djarot for their success in creating a transparent administration “which has never happened in previous administrations.”

Arya said one of the biggest challenges for incoming governor and deputy governor Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno would be to maintain the positive initiatives carried out by their predecessors.