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PKS to weigh Anies' candidacy in Jakarta election
The PKS is mulling over whether to back the former Jakarta governor for reelection in November's regional head elections.
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Anies Baswedan speaks on Jan. 31, 2024 during a presidential campaign event in Pamekasan, East Java. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
T
he Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leadership is expected to formally discuss the possible nomination of former governor Anies Baswedan to contest Jakarta gubernatorial election in November.
The PKS central board also acknowledged it had received a proposal from its Jakarta branch to nominate Anies for reelection as Jakarta governor.
"Yes, I can confirm that the Jakarta provincial branch has nominated Anies Baswedan as a gubernatorial candidate. Next, we have our own internal mechanism, just wait for the outcome," PKS spokesperson Ahmad Mabruri said, as quoted by Antara.
Meanwhile, a high-level meeting of the PKS’s Jakarta branch on Wednesday decided to back Anies’s nomination for Jakarta governor.
Mabruri added that the party was weighing other figures as prospective gubernatorial candidates, including the party's own politicians.
Anies, who is unaffiliated with any party, garnered the second-most votes in this year's presidential election.
Mabruri also noted that the PKS, despite placing first for the greatest number of votes in Jakarta during the legislative race in February, would have to build a coalition with other political parties before it could field a gubernatorial candidate.
PKS secured 16 percent of the vote in the legislative election, followed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with a little over 14 percent.
In the presidential race, Anies and running mate Muhaimin Iskandar garnered 24.95 percent of nationwide votes to come in at a distant second after Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who swept up a whopping 58.58 percent.
The third presidential pair of Ganjar Pranowo and Mahfud MD trailed with 16.47 percent.
