Ganjar, governor of one of Indonesia’s most populous provinces, Central Java, is up against former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and ex-special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, in what is expected to be a hotly contested race to lead the world’s third largest democracy.

The announcement was made at a live streamed event by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), which holds the most seats in parliament and leads the ruling coalition.

It ends months of political uncertainty after some key government officials suggested the highly popular incumbent, Joko Widodo, should extend his tenure beyond the two terms allowed by the constitution.

Legal manoeuvres by several obscure political parties to try to delay the election had compounded concerns.

Governor of Central Java since 2013, Ganjar is among a generation of provincial leaders from outside of Indonesia’s political elite who have built their voter base on a track record of reform, efficiency and transparency.

But Ganjar saw his popularity dip this month after he backed another governor’s call to stop Israel from taking part in next month’s Under-20 World Cup, which Muslim-majority Indonesia was due to host.

It was subsequently dropped as host by football’s world governing body Fifa, leaving fans and players dismayed.

Indonesia does not have formal ties with Israel and has long been a supporter of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After the fracas, a survey by Indikator Politik released in April showed twice-defeated presidential hopeful Prabowo had taken a five-point lead over Ganjar.

The poll showed Prabowo with the backing of 32% of respondents while Ganjar and Anies got 28% and 22% respectively.