Anies, a former education and culture minister, declined to answer whether it was fair or not for Ahok to be unable to campaign. The gubernatorial candidate, however, said that even though the residents did not agree with a candidate, they should still welcome him or her.

“They should welcome, meet and tell [their aspirations] to the candidate because it was their opportunity to reveal their perspectives, thoughts and feelings,” he told reporters after performing Friday prayer in Kebon Siri, Central Jakarta.

It was the first statement Anies made regarding the difficulties his rival, Ahok, is facing in reaching out to voters in the campaign period.

Read also: Ahok-Djarot faces continual opposition on trail

Ahok has become a target of protests by many people, especially Islamic organization members, because they accuse him of having insulted the Quran during his visit to the Thousand Islands in September.

More than 100,000 people gathered around the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta last week to demand he be charged with blasphemy.

On Thursday, Ahok, already guarded by 300 police officers, was forced to call off this campaigning on Jl. Raya Kedoya Utara in West Jakarta after being advised by the police to do so because of the large number of people protesting against his visit.

Ahok’s running mate, incumbent Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, has also faced disruptions of his campaign visits.

The latest incident occured on Wednesday during a stop in Kembangan Utara, in West Jakarta.

Djarot, who is Muslim and Javanese, decided to confront the protesters to ask them to stop, but they refused to do so, forcing Djarot to leave the premises.

The Ahok-Djarot campaign team had filed a formal complaint about the campaign disruptions with the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu). The pair said they believed that the protests were coordinated and did not involve local residents.

Since last week, the Ahok-Djarot pair has not made their campaign schedule public for security reasons. On Friday, when Anies and Agus were campaigning, Ahok decided not to campaign, while Djarot went to Malang, East Java.

Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the other contender in the gubernatorial race, said he was not in the position to decide whether it is fair for Ahok if he could not campaign because of rowdy protests from some groups.

“I cannot say whether it is fair or not. It depends on the society,” he said during a campaign stop in Paseban market in Central Jakarta on Friday.

When asked if he would call on the public to welcome Ahok when he visits, Agus said: “I have nothing to do with the case. The residents also have heart.”

“Do not think that the residents do not have heart and feeling. Let them decide it by themselves,” he said.

Political observer Pangi Syarwi Chaniago called on the General Elections Commission (KPU), religious leaders and the political stakeholders to ease religious tension in the capital as it had disadvantaged Ahok. “The government should take stern action against protesters as they hinder people from exercising their political rights,” he said.

He said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should call on the residents to treat candidates equally as preventing them from campaigning was discriminatory.