Jakarta – Gerindra Party politician Ahmad Riza Patria and his running mate Marshel Widianto, a comedian, have withdrawn their candidacies in the South Tangerang, Banten, mayoral race after the party decided to instead back incumbent Benyamin Davnie, who has already received support from some of Gerindra's partners in the February presidential election.
"We [Gerindra] will endorse Benyamin and [running mate] Pilar Saga," said Riza on Wednesday, just a day before candidate registration at the General Elections Commission (KPU) closed.
Benyamin of Golkar and Pilar are incumbents who have served as South Tangerang mayor and deputy mayor, respectively, since 2021.
Riza said the party leadership had assigned him other tasks that led to his withdrawal from the mayoral race, although he claimed he did not know the details of the tasks.
"That will be a matter for the party's executive board. As a party member, [I] must always obey and comply with whatever I'm assigned," the former Jakarta deputy governor added.
On the same day, a Gerindra politician claimed that Benyamin had joined Gerindra's ranks after the party decided to throw its weight behind his candidacy.
With Riza's withdrawal, the upcoming South Tangerang mayoral race will feature the Benyamin-Pilar pair and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politicians Rumahaben and his running mate Sinta Wahyuni Chairuddin. The candidate registration period will be open until midnight Thursday. (alf)