KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has confirmed that it will contest all 82 seats in the 13th Sarawak State Election (PRN13).
GPS Chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg said the decision was reached during the GPS Supreme Council meeting attended by the presidents of its component parties on Wednesday.
According to the Sarawak Premier, GPS is now ready for the election, although its next steps will depend on the announcement of key election dates by the Election Commission (EC).
"One thing I can announce is that GPS will contest all 82 seats. That is our decision.
"As for other matters, we are waiting for the EC to announce the election dates. Only then will we know what steps to take next," he said.
He said this when met by reporters after chairing the GPS Supreme Council meeting at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters here on Wednesday.
Commenting on the allocation of seats among GPS component parties, he explained that the matter would be worked out based on the current landscape, including seats won by the coalition's candidates in the previous election.
He said the GPS candidate list would be finalised before nomination day, after the EC's announcement of the key dates for PRN13.
GPS comprises four component parties, namely PBB, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
In the 12th Sarawak State Election, GPS won 76 of the 82 state assembly seats.
Of that total, PBB secured 47 seats, followed by SUPP with 13, PRS with 11 and PDP with five.
The coalition's seat tally subsequently increased to 79 in 2024, after three Assemblymen from the dissolved Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) joined PDP.
Support from Batu Lintang Assemblyman See Chee How, an Independent, further brought the total number of seats supporting GPS to 80, while the remaining two seats were held by the Democratic Action Party (DAP). -UKASnews
