Jakarta. State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir said on Saturday he respected the decision by Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, to resign from the chief commissioner position at state-run oil company Pertamina.

Ahok announced on Friday that he was stepping down from his role to join the presidential campaign of Ganjar Pranowo. The election law prohibits officials of state-owned companies from participating in political campaigns.

Erick said he would soon appoint a professional to fill the position vacated by Ahok.

“Mr. Ahok has communicated with me about his intention to join the Ganjar team. That is his choice, and we live in a democratic nation,” Erick said in Jakarta.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appointed Ahok as the Pertamina chief commissioner in November 2019, just a month after the inauguration of his second term in the presidency.

Both men previously worked together when Jokowi was elected as the Jakarta governor, and Ahok became the vice-governor in 2012. Ahok was later promoted to governor after Jokowi won his first presidential term in 2014.

During his reelection bid in 2017, Ahok was targeted by large rallies involving Muslim groups in the capital city demanding his resignation. Eventually, he was defeated by Anies Baswedan and later convicted of blasphemy related to his controversial remarks quoting the Quran, leading to a two-year prison sentence.

Following his release in early 2019, Ahok joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which nominated Ganjar Pranowo for the presidency.

Anies, Ahok's former rival in the 2017 gubernatorial election, is also contesting the presidential election.

Ahok’s decision to join the Ganjar presidential campaign may put him in opposition to President Jokowi, whose son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the running mate of another presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto.

Ahok, 57, is a veteran politician who has also served as East Belitung regent (2005-06) and a member of the House of Representatives (2009-12).