Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is insisting that the Jakarta deputy gubernatorial post belongs by right to it, dismissing claims made a by Gerindra Party politician that he had been nominated for the post.

The party said it opposed the nomination of Gerindra councilor Mohammad Taufik as Jakarta deputy governor, replacing Sandiaga Uno, who is running for vice president.

It argued that Gerindra had already taken enough prestigious posts. "Is Gerindra going to take it all?" asked PKS executive Hidayat Nur Wahid at the State Palace on Wednesday.

The PKS has conceded to Gerindra's wish to pair its chairman, Prabowo Subianto, and its deputy chairman, Sandiaga, as presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The PKS had initially demanded that Prabowo be paired with one of its members as a representative of political Islam in the coalition.

The Prabowo coalition later appointed another Gerindra politician, Djoko Santoso, as chairman of the candidate's campaign team. The deputy governor post has been left empty since last month.

"In politics, we have to keep the commitment of togetherness," Hidayat said, adding that the PKS had already prepared a party member to take the city's second-highest post. (ahw)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/09/19/pks-says-gerindra-cant-take-everything.html