The incumbent Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama appeared upbeat as the city’s gubernatorial election looks set to enter a second round.

At a press conference held at former president Megawati Sukarnoputri’s residence today, Basuki urged his supporters and volunteers to continue working to ensure his and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat’s final victory.

“It suits the name of the party, which is Partai Demokrasi Indonesia – Perjuangan (PDI-P), he said, referring to the party led by Megawati that backs his nomination.

Exit polls results for today’s election suggest that Basuki, also known as Ahok, is neck-to-neck to his closest opponent Anies Baswedan, each with around 40 percent of the vote, depending on the polling agency.

Meanwhile, candidate Agus Yudhoyono is trailing far behind. Official results are expected in about two weeks.

However, Jakarta law stipulates that a candidate must garner more than 50 percent of votes to win.

This means Basuki would likely face Anies and his running mate Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno in a run-off election in April.

Meanwhile, the third pair of candidates, Agus and Sylvia Murni would likely be booted out of the race.

Basuki said he is confident that his actions are well-received by voters, and they would give him a fresh mandate to administer Jakarta.

“Our battles are not finished. We will finish this unfinished battle,” he told supporters and reporters gathered at Megawati’s South Jakarta residence.

Meanwhile, Anies’ campaign team reportedly claimed that the exit poll results showed that Jakarta voters want change.

The Jakarta Post quoted Prosperous Justice Party chairperson Sohibul Imam, whose party backs Anies’ nomination, saying the latter has the edge over Basuki in the exit polls.

"There is strong indication that the public is not satisfied with the current leadership. Anies and Sandiaga Uno are here to meet the challenge," he was quoted as saying.