The PDI-P Congress was finally held, Megawati was re-elected as General Chairperson.

NUSA DUA, KOMPAS - Megawati Soekarnoputri has officially been reappointed as the Chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle or PDI-P. This decision was made during the VI Congress of PDI-P, which was finally held at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali, on Friday (1/8/2025).

With her re-election at the PDI-P Congress in 2025, serving until 2030, this period will mark the sixth term for Megawati in leading the party that won the 2024 Legislative Election.

All voting rights holders in the PDI-P Congress, namely the chairperson, secretary, and treasurer of the regional leadership council (provincial level) as well as the branch leadership council (district and city), participated in the VI PDI-P Congress at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali. The congress was held privately starting at 2:00 PM WIB.

According to information gathered by Kompas, congress participants were prohibited from bringing mobile phones to the event. All entrances to the congress area were strictly guarded, preventing outsiders without congress ID cards and PDI-P membership cards from entering.

About two hours later, the congress participants began to leave the room to continue with the commission meeting discussing the strategic matters of the party for the next five years.

The Chairman of the Steering Committee for the 6th Congress of PDIP, Komaruddin Hidayat, stated that all congress participants agreed to appoint Megawati as the Chairperson of PDI Perjuangan for the 2025-2030 term.

"Earlier, as soon as the opening of the first session was concluded, 100 percent of the participants requested to be promptly reinstated, so it is now complete," said Komarudin after the event.

Megawati was actually proposed to become the general chairperson of the PDI-P at the 5th PDI-P National Working Meeting in 2024.

Komarudin acknowledged that the confirmation proceeded quickly as it was merely following up on the results of the national working meeting. "I also did not expect it to happen this fast. We set it up until 10 PM," he said.

The VI Congress of PDI-P was originally scheduled to take place last year, but it was continuously postponed due to political dynamics, and it is only being held now.

Megawati has led the PDI-P since the party, which bears the bull symbol, was still named the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) through the PDI Congress in 1993.

However, an internal conflict occurred that caused the PDI to split into two factions, resulting in a dual leadership within the PDI. The PDI Congress in Medan appointed Soerjadi as the General Chair of the PDI since June 22, 1996. The peak of the dispute between these two factions culminated in a physical clash at the PDI headquarters on Diponegoro Street, Jakarta, known as the July 27, 1996 riot. As a result of this clash, Megawati was unable to participate in the 1997 Presidential Election.

After the end of the leadership of the second President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soeharto, on May 21, 1998, the PDI changed its name. Based on the decisions made at the PDI Congress in Denpasar, Bali, on February 1, 1999, the PDI was renamed the PDI Perjuangan (PDI-P) with Megawati as its general chairperson.

In the same year, during the 1999 elections or the early reform era, PDI-P won the election. Although her party received the most votes, Megawati lost the presidential election through the MPR to KH Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur.

The peak of Megawati's political career came when she became the number one person in Indonesia, as on July 23, 2001, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) unanimously elected Megawati as the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia for the 2001–2004 term. Megawati replaced President Abdurrahman Wahid, who held office for less than two years (1998–2000). Megawati also became the first female president in Indonesia.

At the end of her term, Megawati ran for president again, pairing with Hasyim Muzadi in the 2004 presidential election. However, Megawati had to concede defeat to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), who was paired with Jusuf Kalla. Five years later, in 2009, Megawati once again ran for president, this time teaming up with Prabowo Subianto. However, Megawati faced defeat once more against SBY, who was paired with Boediono, to continue the administration for the 2009–2014 term.

In the 2014 Election, Megawati did not run for President. Nevertheless, Megawati remained active as the Chairperson of PDI-P. In the 2014 Presidential Election, Megawati appointed a cadre from PDI-P, Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, to run in partnership with Jusuf Kalla. Jokowi became the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia after successfully winning the 2014 Presidential Election.

Jokowi's leadership continues into the next period. Jokowi, paired with Ma’ruf Amien, successfully maintained his position as President of the Republic of Indonesia for the 2019-2024 term.

The top position in PDI-P has been maintained by her since the PDI-P congress in 2000, followed by congresses in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019. With her re-election at the PDI-P Congress in 2025, serving until 2030, this period will mark the sixth term for Megawati in leading the party that won the 2024 Legislative Election.

Signals that Megawati will lead PDI-P again were evident during the 52nd anniversary celebration of PDI-P at the Party School, Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, on January 10, 2025.

In her speech at that time, Megawati mentioned the presence of parties seeking to target the position of chairperson while addressing the requests of cadres who wanted her to return as Chairperson of PDI-P for the 2025-2030 term. Megawati joked that she was reluctant to fulfill that request if the cadres were not solid and did not share the same spirit.

"They say they want me to be the chairperson again, but if my subordinates are all like this, I refuse," said Megawati.

However, he then revealed that if he is not reappointed as the chairman, there are parties secretly eyeing his position. "But there are still those who want to (become the chairman of PDI-P), ha-ha-ha, crazy," he said while laughing.

The daughter of the proclaimer Bung Karno asked the members of the DPP PDI-P present at the anniversary location, "Do you want to be led by someone who wants to become the chairperson of PDI-P?"

"No," answered the PDI-P elite.

Previously, specifically during the National Working Meeting (Rakernas) of PDI-P in 2024, the request for Megawati to lead PDI-P again was voiced by the cadres. One of the outcomes of the Rakernas was that all DPC and DPD PDI-P recommended Megawati to be reappointed as Chairperson.