On Thursday, Ahok canceled a campaign rally in North Kedoya, West Jakarta, following a protest from local residents who rejected his presence in the area.

Media reports said that when Ahok arrived at the location, there was already a strong presence from riot police, who tried to prevent protesters from taking to the streets and disrupting traffic.

More than 200 police personnel in riot gear and two water cannons were on standby to secure the location prior to Ahok’s arrival.

Concerned that his presence would create tension and traffic congestion, Ahok’s campaign team decided to call off the event.

On Friday, Ahok’s running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat ordered his campaign team to identify individuals responsible for disrupting the campaign and filed a report with the police.

“I have asked our legal team to file a police report against people who mobilize others to disrupt the AhokDjarot campaign. This is a criminal offense,” Djarot said as quoted by Antara news agency on Friday.

Following a large-scale anti-Ahok rally on Nov. 4, opposition against the governor has intensified, with some even calling for him to drop out of the gubernatorial election.

More than 100,000 Muslim protesters took to the streets last week, calling for the prosecution of Ahok, who they accused of blasphemy.

Ahok has been accused of making a blasphemous remark that some Muslims considered had insulted Islam, regarding the Quranic verse of Al-Maidah: 51 during an official visit to Thousand Islands in September.

On Thursday, Ahok rejected the call for him to quit the race. “I have told [them]. If I am asked to drop out of the race, it’s better for me to be apprehended and imprisoned,” he said.

Ahok suspected that the protests against him were also aimed at President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who has backed him in the election.

“The President could be ousted as the situation could be uncontrollable. People will stage protests for days. Everything will be more chaotic,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Ahok said the blasphemy case was being used by several parties as a pretext to prevent his reelection.

“What is the ultimate goal if I back down? I think in the end, it is because they are afraid that I [could] become governor again. How come they are so afraid of me becoming governor?” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Police have dropped a plan to provide greater transparency in the handling of the blasphemy claims.

The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) chief Comr. Gen. Ari Dono Sukmanto said on Friday that a case screening on the alleged blasphemy would not be televised as planned.

The screening is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Ari maintained that although no television cameras would be present, the process would proceed in a transparent manner.

He said case screenings should always be held behind closed doors but as per the President’s request for transparency, members of the public could attend an open session.

Representatives from the police’s General Supervision Inspectorate (Irwasum), internal affairs division (Propam) and legal division, as well as the Indonesian Ombudsman and the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) are expected to attend the session.

Journalists will be allowed to cover the opening session.

The police have sought testimony from Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Habib Rizieq Shihab and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma’ruf Amin regarding the blasphemy allegations.

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