Semarang. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and his deputy, Taj Yasin Maemoen, bid farewell on Tuesday in front of thousands of local government employees and invited guests who gathered at a soccer stadium in Semarang to see the governor off.

“Never engage in corruption and always serve the public to the best of your abilities,” Ganjar told the crowd.

As his second term expired on Tuesday, Ganjar is embarking on a more challenging journey as the favorite for the upcoming presidential election.

He claimed that during his 10-year tenure, improvements have been made in many areas.

"You can debate that, and I will sincerely accept it. While we may not have reached our target in reducing the poverty rate, [Central Java] has recorded the most significant reduction among all other provinces," Ganjar said, referring to data from the Central Statistics Agency.

“We also have the highest happiness index in the country, and remember that you can’t buy happiness.”

He thanked the audience, which included village heads from across the province, for supporting provincial government programs that extended to rural areas.

Some guests burst into tears when Ganjar delivered his farewell remarks and wished them the best of luck in the Javanese language.

Ganjar is the leading presidential candidate in recent surveys conducted by more than 20 pollsters, which compared his electability to main contenders Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

However, in a hypothetical head-to-head race against Prabowo, Ganjar is trailing by more than five percentage points, according to some surveys.

Ganjar is nominated by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to succeed fellow party executive President Joko Widodo.