Incumbent concedes defeat in Jakarta governor poll

Bowo congratulated challenger Joko Widodo, after quick counts by polling agencies showed he had garnered more than half the vote.

The authoritative Indonesia Survey Institute gave Widodo 53.81 percent and Bowo 46.19 percent of the vote.

The count was taken at 400 of the 15,000 polling stations and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent, the institute said.

A similar count by Indo Barometer gave Widodo, the current mayor of Solo city in Central Java province, 54.11 percent of the vote compared to 45.89 percent for the incumbent.

Official results are due to be announced September 29.

"Based on a number of quick counts... while awaiting a final result by the electoral commission, we want to express our respect to the pair number three (Widodo and his running mate) who led the race and won," Bowo told MetroTV.

"I have congratulated him (Widodo)," he added.

Widodo, a businessman turned mayor, said: "I want to thank the people for their trust." In comments broadcast on MetroTV he added: "Fauzi called to congratulate me."

Widodo, 51, is backed by the country's second largest political party, the Democratic Party of Struggle, and the Great Indonesia Movement Party led by Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander.

Bowo, 64, ran with the support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

Some seven million voters had registered to vote at 15,000 polling stations, which opened at 0000 GMT and closed at 0600 GMT.

Jakarta's problems include massive traffic jams, flooding after rains and slums and shantytowns without basic provisions such as piped water.