Leading in most areas of the capital according to various quick count polls, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat are happy with the result, although they are still hoping for outright victory in which the pair has to clinch more than 50 percent of the votes.

"We, and all supporters, of course want a first round win. We don't know whether we'll win ‘50 percent plus one’ votes this round, but the result so far should make us grateful. Let's see, because the fight is not over just yet," Ahok said at Rumah Lembang, his campaign team’s headquarters, in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. 

According to a number of quick counts, Ahok leads the contest by a small margin from rival pair Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno. 

"Several months ago, some survey organizations predicted that we would lose, and that we wouldn't even garner 20 percent of the votes. But the facts now clearly say otherwise. So far, we lead the competition. So, I thank all my supporters, volunteers and political parties [that backed Ahok] very much. I'm sure we will stay solid," the incumbent candidate said.

Ahok’s campaign team remained optimistic the pair had won the Jakarta gubernatorial contest outright. "The quick count results are not the final results, it's not formal and official. But with these samples, it's not impossible to say we have won in the first round," said campaign team secretary Ace Hasan Syadzily. (evi)

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