Jakarta. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has chosen Anies Baswedan as its candidate for the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election, a party executive said on Monday, marking an unexpected alliance as both Anies and PDI-P faced challenges in contesting the local election.

Anies, having missed the deadline for independent candidacy, saw PDI-P as his last hope for securing a spot on the November 27 ballot after all other major parties selected a rival candidate.

Until two weeks ago, PDI-P lacked the eligibility to nominate a candidate on its own due to failing to meet the required 22-seat threshold in the Jakarta legislature. No other party was available to form a coalition. However, PDI-P’s participation was salvaged by a recent Constitutional Court ruling that lowered the seat threshold.

Said Abdullah, a member of PDI-P's leadership board, confirmed Anies’ candidacy, which is set to be formally announced by PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri later in the day.

PDI-P also nominated former Armed Forces Commander Andika Perkasa for the Central Java governorship and former South Tangerang Mayor Airin Rachmi Diany for Banten governor.

Anies initially won the Jakarta governorship in 2017, defeating then-incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, commonly known as Ahok, who had PDI-P's backing. That election, fraught with sectarian tensions, ultimately led to Ahok’s imprisonment on blasphemy charges driven by Anies’ supporters.

Despite this history, PDI-P is now aligning with Anies, potentially recognizing the need for a strong candidate to regain momentum after suffering losses in the recent presidential election and a significant reduction of its seats in the House of Representatives.

Polling data shows that Anies remains a formidable contender in the Jakarta gubernatorial race. Although he was defeated in the presidential election in February, he secured 25 percent of the vote -- more than PDI-P’s own candidate, Ganjar Pranowo. Notably, the three political parties that backed Anies during the presidential race increased their share of seats in the House of Representatives.

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