Jakarta will head to the polls next week for an election that some say will determine the importance of ethnicity and religion in the world's most populous Muslim democracy - for better or worse.
There were cheers, singing and dancing at the rally of current governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama - aka 'Ahok' - last Saturday, as popular Indonesian bands swayed and tossed their hair in front of thousands at a golf range in Jakarta.
Here was the side of the 10-million strong capital you see in shopping malls, parks and restaurants. A relaxed city, enjoying its freedoms.
But nothing in this election has been carefree.
Since the candidates were announced last September, Indonesia's capital has been gripped by 'politik panas' or hot politics - with religious and ethnic tensions driving temperatures to record highs.
"We have seen unprecedented public mobilisation against Ahok and I think that is what makes this Jakarta election stand out against all others," Australian National University's Indonesian expert, Associate Professor Greg Fealy told AAP.
Ahok - a Christian of Chinese descent - is locked in a three-way battle with Agus Yudhoyono, the eldest son of the former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as well as former education minister Anies Rasyid Baswedan.
In September last year, while visiting fisherman in Jakarta's thousands island, Ahok remarked on people using the Koran to try to persuade voters not to support non-Muslims.
The comments were seized on by hardline Muslim groups who, in November and December, spearheaded two-large scale rallies, locking down the capital's streets and calling for Ahok's immediate jailing for blasphemy.
The first ended in looting and the burning of military vehicles. The second sprouted allegations of treasonous plots.
As Jakarta heads to the polls on February 15, Ahok remains on trial over alleged blasphemy, while a further rally is slated for Saturday.
Many have pointed to the rallies and the trial as a sign of rising intolerance within Indonesia. But few blame Ahok's troubles squarely on religious and ethnic divisions.
Jakarta has long been a jewel in the political crown as a money-maker.
Running on an anti-corruption platform, Ahok has tried to block these rivers of gold, by, among other things, insisting contracts go out to tender.
"A lot of people are very aggrieved at him because he has cost them millions of dollars," Assoc Prof Fealy adds.
The ascendancy of President Joko Widodo from the position of Jakarta's governor to the palace in 2014 has also upped the stakes.
"Whoever runs in Jakarta will get that kind of exposure that will prepare anyone to run for national office," Tobias Basuki from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies explains.
Whatever the motivations, the central government will be looking for someone with steady hands.
Across Jakarta looms the ambitions of President Widodo, with the construction of a variety of large-scale projects, including the multi-billion dollar mass rail project, new fly-over roads and a port expansion.
"(Jakarta) has to be in the hands of a governor that is conducive to the national politics ... If it is a governor from the so-called opposition it will make the government work much harder," Mr Basuki adds.
The post is also important for Indonesia on the international stage.
"If there is trouble in Jakarta - if there is social unrest and things like that, well that impacts the national government and its international reputation," Assoc Prof Fealy says.
If Ahok loses, Assoc Prof Fealy says religion and ethnicity will "undoubtedly" have played a part.
But that doesn't mean other minority politicians will be similarly thwarted, as they tend to be more careful about what they say, he believes.
Mr Basuki, however, feels the election is a litmus test, showing future politicians whether or not they can wield ethnicity and religion to their advantage.
"This election will determine the trajectory of the discussions of what religion and ethnicity means in a democratic Indonesia - for better or worse."
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