Yogyakarta. Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, whose bid for reelection faltered due to a lack of political backing, has expressed respect for a growing movement among his supporters to spoil their votes by marking all three candidates on the ballot in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

Anies, who served as governor from 2017 to 2022, was unable to secure the support of any political party for his candidacy and missed the deadline for registering as an independent candidate.

His supporters have claimed that major political parties conspired to block his candidacy, including those that had backed him in the 2017 gubernatorial race and the presidential election earlier this year.

The "mark all three candidates" movement was launched by a group of Anies' supporters known as Anak Abah ("Father's Children") as a form of protest, expressing frustration that Anies, despite being a frontrunner in many polls, will not appear on the ballot.

"Everyone has the constitutional right to choose, and we must respect that," Anies said during an event at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta on Monday. "This movement reflects people's thoughts and feelings about the current situation, and it must be respected as part of their freedom of expression."

Anies clarified that he is not personally involved in the movement but acknowledged that it "remains within the bounds of the constitution."

The Jakarta gubernatorial race will involve Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung who runs on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)'s ticket; former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil who receives the backing of all remaining major parties in the parliament; and independent candidate Dharma Pongrekun.

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