KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will contest all 82 seats in the state election, says its chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
He said details of the seat allocation among the coalition’s component parties would be discussed and finalised later.
“We have just held a meeting with component party leaders where we formally announced that we will face the state election, although we do not know the dates yet as that will be decided by the Election Commission (EC).
“However, I can confirm that GPS will contest all 82 seats. That is our decision,” he said after chairing a meeting at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters here yesterday.
GPS comprises PBB, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
Abang Johari said seat allocation among component parties would be based on their performance in the previous state election.
“We will discuss the details later,” he said, adding that further preparations would be discussed after the EC announced the nomination and polling dates.
He also confirmed that several PBB incumbents would step aside, though he declined to specify how many.
“Wait first, there is still time. The EC has not announced the dates yet,” he said.
Asked when GPS will unveil its candidate line-up, he quipped: “Before nomination day.”
The Sarawak Legislative Assembly was dissolved on Oct 26, paving the way for the state election, which must be held within 60 days.
The EC will meet on Nov 6 to decide the key dates, including nomination and polling days.
In the 2021 state election, GPS won 76 of the 82 seats, with PBB securing 47, SUPP 13, PRS 11 and PDP five. Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) won four seats, while DAP took the remaining two.
However, PSB’s Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How left the party in 2022 to become an Independent, while the other three PSB representatives joined PDP in 2024 after their party was dissolved.
See reportedly submitted his application to join SUPP on Oct 27, just a day after the state assembly was dissolved.
