REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Deputy Governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, has congratulated the newly elected Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) after announcement by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Tuesday (July 22) night.

"I have personally congratulated President-elect Jokowi," Ahok stated here on Wednesday.

He said that he had congratulated Jokowi personally as a friend and his party The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) is yet to congratulate.

"As a friend, i have congratulated Jokowi as Indonesia's next president," he affirmed.

As the acting Jakarta governor, Ahok had various experiences of love and grief.

"During the leave of absence of Jokowi, more tasks were assigned. I had signed numerous letters and had even worked at home on Saturdays and Sundays," he noted.

Ahok and the newly elected President Jokowi had been discussing some problems in Jakarta.

"We had a conversation regarding transportation, normalization of the river, revitalization of Kota Tua, road repair, and other issues. We want programs to solve these problems to run continuously," he added.

The KPU had announced the presidential candidate pair Jokowi and Jusuf Kalla (JK) as Indonesia's upcoming president and vice president following the duo's victory in the July 9 presidential election.

The Jokowi-JK pair had secured 70,997,833 votes or 53.15 percent of the total 133,567,276 valid national votes, while Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa had received 62,576,444 votes or 46.85 percent.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the first to congratulate the newly elected president and vice president Jokowi and JK.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott had congratulated Jokowi shortly after being announced as the winner in the presidential race.