Jakarta. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Thursday urged Anies Baswedan to promptly announce former party chairman Sohibul Iman as his running mate, warning that failure to do so could lead to the withdrawal of the party’s support for his re-election bid as Jakarta governor.

PKS spokesman Muhammad Kholid reminded Anies that the deadline to finalize Sohibul’s candidacy had passed without a response from the former governor.

"The August 4 deadline has passed, so PKS is now engaging in discussions with other parties to ensure our participation in the Jakarta gubernatorial election," Kholid told reporters in Jakarta.

One potential option, Kholid said, is to join the coalition that is backing former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil for the Jakarta election.

"On June 25, PKS gave Anies 40 days to confirm his partnership with Sohibul Iman. We have provided Anies with 18 seats in the Jakarta legislature, leaving him only three more seats to secure the nomination for the gubernatorial election," Kholid added, referring to the election threshold.

In a separate statement, Anies expressed confidence that he would receive continued support from PKS, as well as from the National Democratic Party (Nasdem) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), for his election campaign.

He said PKS has no reason to lose confidence in his candidacy and that the Muslim-based party is likely to maintain its backing.

“I’m confident that the aspirations of the people of Jakarta will be represented. Political parties won legislative seats from their constituents, and voters have entrusted their choice to these parties’ Jakarta chapters,” Anies said.

Previously, PKB’s Jakarta chapter nominated Anies for the Jakarta governor’s race, and the party’s seat count would allow PKS to meet the election threshold.

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