By Kanupriya Kapoor
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The front-runner in Wednesday's Indonesian presidential election has flown to Mecca on a whirlwind pilgrimage in a last-ditch bid to win voters among the world's largest Muslim population and put to rest damaging suggestions that he is really a Christian.
Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has seen his huge early lead in polls narrow sharply in what has become Indonesia's dirtiest and tightest presidential race in the face of a sharp and well-financed campaign by his rival, ex-general Prabowo Subianto.
Some opinion polls show the July 9 race is now too close to call.
The pilgrimage could mean the difference between winning and losing the presidency after a smear campaign suggesting Jokowi was an ethnic-Chinese Christian hurt his popularity.
The suggestion is politically ruinous in a society where more than 90 percent of people are native Indonesians and adhere to Islam. Jokowi is both Muslim and an indigenous Indonesian.
"It's not too late to try and convince people that he is a true Muslim. In fact, voters will remember this act when they go (to vote) on Wednesday," Elisabeth added.
The election body has imposed a three-day "quiet period" banning active campaigning immediately before the election. But by going to Mecca and making sure TV cameras come along, Jokowi can guarantee publicity without breaking the rules against campaigning.
One of his key supporters owns a major TV channel.
Jokowi undertook a similar last-minute pilgrimage before the 2012 election for the post of Jakarta governor, which was also marred by ethnic and religious tensions. He won.
Jokowi is due back in Jakarta on Tuesday morning, a campaign official told Reuters.
($1=11,677 rupiah)
(Editing by Jonathan Thatcher, Simon Webb and Clarence Fernandez)