After fighting it, incumbent Ahok agrees to go on 4-month leave to campaign starting October 28

Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has finally decided to play along with the rules and go on a legally mandated four-month leave of absence during the official campaign period for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.

The mandated leave for incumbents, which is stipulated in the Regional Elections Law, is meant to prevent officials from using their position in office for the benefit of their re-election campaigns. However, Ahok actively fought that rule, taking the matter to the Constitutional Court and arguing that forcing him to take several months’ leave to campaign is against his constitutional rights by preventing him from completing his responsibilities.

Even though Ahok’s judicial review is still being considered by the Constitutional Court, he has officially put in a request for his leave of absence as the campaign period nears.

“We have received an official letter from the Home Affairs Minister about the leave of absence for Basuki Tjahaja Purnama,” said Jakarta General Election Commission (KPUD DKI Jakarta) head Sumarno, as quoted by CNN Indonesia yesterday.

Ahok’s leave of absence is scheduled to last for the entirety of the campaign period, which starts on October 28 and ends on February 11, 2017.

It’s not clear if Ahok would be able to retract his leave request should the Constitutional Court rule in his favor before the start of the campaign period.

Following the campaign period, Jakartans will take to the ballots on February 15, 2017. KPUD DKI Jakarta would then count the votes from February 16-27, and the winner, if the outcome isn’t contested in court, will be announced between March 8-10.

Correction: Based on information from Kompas, the word “inaugurated” was changed to “announced” in the last paragraph above, as there is no date scheduled yet for the inauguration of the next Jakarta governor. In addition, if the outcome of the first round of the election deems another round necessary (no candidate receiving 50% or more of the votes in the first round), then Jakartans would again take to the ballots on April 19, 2017. The winner of the second round of the election, if the outcome isn’t contested in court, would be announced between May 5-6.