Sarawak Pakatan Harapan said the state DAP and Amanah chapters had previously stated their intention to contest in the state election, Dayak Daily reported.

“This is the first official statement by Sarawak PKR confirming its participation in the upcoming state election,” Sarawak PH said.

Certain quarters in the ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak had previously urged PKR to stay out of the state polls.

Analysts had also made this call, saying this would assure PH of GPS’s support after the next general election.

GPS currently has a commanding 80 seats in the 82-seat legislative assembly, with DAP holding the remaining two, despite being allies at the federal level.

Sarawak PKR contested in 28 seats during the 2021 state election but failed to win even a single seat, with 22 of its candidates losing their deposits.

The party had won three seats in the 2016 state election.

Last year, GPS chairman Abang Johari Openg quipped that his coalition’s dominance in the state assembly meant that DAP and PKR “do not exist” in the state.

The Sarawak assembly’s term expires five years after the date of its first sitting. This means that its next state election must be held by April 15, 2027.