Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has pushed back against suggestions that it is to blame for the uncertainty surrounding Anies Baswedan's candidacy in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election, saying that Anies himself has been unable to secure the necessary support from other parties to meet the nomination threshold.
The election requires a party or coalition to have at least 22 seats in the Jakarta legislature to nominate a candidate. While PKS has already pledged its support for Anies, the party only holds 18 seats.
In a voice note addressed to Anies, PKS Jakarta Chapter Head Khoirudin hinted that the party might withdraw its support due to Anies' failure to secure backing from other parties with at least four seats.
"After the August 4 deadline passed, PKS Chairman [Ahmad Syaikhu] inquired about the outcome of Mr. Anies' efforts to win the support of Nasdem [National Democratic Party] and/or PKB [National Awakening Party] for your candidacy, but it turned out that Mr. Anies had not received any assurances," Khoirudin said in the recorded message, which was made available to the media earlier this week.
PKS's initial endorsement of Anies was contingent upon his appointment of former PKS Chairman Sohibul Iman as his running mate – a condition that may have deterred other parties from joining the coalition.
PKS then proposed an alternative, suggesting that Anies join the party, which would allow him to choose a running mate from a different party. However, Khoirudin noted that Anies did not respond positively to this offer, instead opting to remain neutral.
Khoirudin said his statements were intended to clarify the situation and prevent a public exchange of arguments between Anies and PKS.
The voice note was a response to a previous message Anies had sent to Khoirudin, also in the form of a recorded voice message. In it, Anies claimed he was unaware of the August 4 deadline and argued that securing political party endorsements is a process that cannot be rushed.
This development has led to speculation that PKS may shift its support to the coalition backing former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil for the Jakarta governorship. It remains unclear whether PKS will seek to have one of its executives serve as Ridwan's running mate if such a scenario unfolds.