Over the past few days the scent of flowers has filled the air along a road on the southern side of Merdeka Square, where Jakarta's iconic National Monument is situated.

Over 2,700 bouquets, wreaths, and boards of flowers have been placed in the City Hall garden and along sidewalks of the 1-kilometer road, according to Muhammad Mawardi, a City Hall worker.

The flowers were sent by Jakarta residents lamenting the forthcoming departure of Gov. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and his deputy Djarot Saiful Hidayat in October following their defeat in the April 19 Jakarta gubernatorial election.

The governor, an ethnic Chinese who is popularly known by his Chinese name Ahok, failed to be re-elected following an ugly campaign dominated by calls by radical and hard-line groups who backed Ahok's rival, Muslim intellectual Anies Baswedan, to not elect a non-Muslim.

Touching and funny messages were written on the boards, expressing how broken-hearted the residents are, calling Ahok and Djarot their "mantan terindah" (best exes).

Most of the flower senders described themselves as "someone who is broken-hearted for being left while still being deeply in love," "someone who is still unable to move on" or "someone who cannot move into another heart."

A sender writes, "Congratulations on your new life, Mr. Ahok and Mr. Djarot. From someone who is forced to not marry you because of our different religions," while another one says, "Thank you, Sir, for your sacrifice. From us who are forced to have stepfathers."

"Even the angels in Heaven know that you are the real winner and you will always be champions in our hearts, Mr. Ahok and Mr. Djarot," said a group of teenagers in their flower boards.

Foreign admirers from overseas, from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands to the United States, also sent flower boards to Ahok and Djarot, including Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bulakites of Pennsylvania who wrote in English, "Your honest and effective leadership is still needed by Indonesia."

Some flower shops were overwhelmed by endless orders of flower bouquets and boards, putting some customers on waiting lists.

"We are very surprised with the public response over Mr. Ahok's loss. I don't know people love him like this," an employee of flower shop Florist Lotus said.

An employee of another flower shop, Lucky Florist, said that since the flower shop was opened 25 years ago, they have never received so many orders.

"This maybe the first in Jakarta's history," he said.

Besides the flowers, more people have also come to City Hall to meet Ahok, with some waiting for him from 5 a.m.

Every morning for one hour from 8 a.m., the governor meets Jakarta residents who want to file complaints about the Jakarta public service. Since his loss, however, the number of people coming daily to the City Hall has continued to increase, from dozens in the past to over 1,000 in the past three days.

"Ahok! Ahok! Ahok!" has been shouted the past few days every time he arrives at City Hall.

Ahok, the first-ever ethnic Chinese to serve as governor of Jakarta, is a Christian in a metropolis that is 85 percent Muslim. He became governor in 2014 after his former boss, Joko Widodo, was elected the country's president.

He quickly gained popularity through his policies, including those on flood prevention, free healthcare and education for the poor, improved transportation services, better infrastructure and welfare programs.

Until six months ago, he was favored to win the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Then, last September, Ahok told residents of an island off the northern coast of Jakarta not to be deceived by those who use a verse from the Quran to suggest a non-Muslim should not be chosen as a leader.

A university lecturer subsequently edited video footage of Ahok's statement to make it appear as if the governor told the residents not to be deceived by the verse itself and uploaded it to social media, sparking massive protest rallies in Jakarta.

While Ahok apologized for the remark, it failed to calm the situation and police declared him a suspect on Nov. 16. The verdict against Ahok, who is now on trial for blasphemy, will be read out on May 9.