No Rush to Hold Congress, PDI-P Just Asks for Megawati's Willingness to Become General Chair

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle or PDI-P does not want to rush into holding a congress that was previously scheduled for April 2025. This is because the VI Congress is planned solely to request the willingness and reaffirm Megawati Soekarnoputri as the Chairperson of PDI-P.

The PDI-P initially planned to hold its VI Congress in April 2025. However, as the third week of April approaches, the date and location for the party's highest forum have yet to be determined.

The spokesperson for PDI-P, Guntur Romli, when contacted on Sunday (20/4/2025), stated that PDI-P is not overly concerned about the timing of the party congress. Until now, the DPP PDI-P has not yet held a plenary meeting to determine the date of the congress.

However, according to Guntur, the VI Congress of PDI-P must be held in 2025. This is because the extension period of the DPP PDI-P management ends in 2025.

"Because there has not yet been a decision from the DPP plenary meeting and the year 2025 is still far off, it is only April. PDI Perjuangan does not want to rush into a congress," he explained.

Guntur also dismissed the notion of political dynamics that have caused the DPP PDI-P not to hold a plenary meeting. What is certain is that all PDI-P officials from the central to the regional levels have requested that Megawati Soekarnoputri return as the general chairperson.

Therefore, the upcoming VI Congress is assuredly just a matter of requesting Megawati's willingness to lead PDI-P once again. If the fifth President of the Republic of Indonesia is willing, the congress will simply confirm her as the Chairperson of PDI-P for the next five years.

The signal to postpone the congress was previously conveyed by the Chairperson of the DPP PDI-P, Puan Maharani, in mid-April. According to her, the VI PDI-P Congress could be held after April 2025. The party structure is considered to still be functional, thus there is no need to rush into holding the congress.

"The congress has not been determined and held due to the existing situation and conditions. Of course, this does not need to be done in a hurry. It could be postponed to April, but certainly no later than the year 2025," said Puan.

In addition to re-electing Megawati as the Chairperson of PDI-P, the congress will discuss the restructuring of the party and its stance towards the government. This means that PDI-P will emerge from the gray area, either joining the government or becoming a balancing force for the government. As of now, PDI-P remains the only political party outside of the government.

The position that is likely to be replaced is the secretary general, currently held by Hasto Kristiyanto. This is because Hasto is currently undergoing trial related to allegations of bribery and obstruction of justice.

Currently, PDI-P has not appointed a new secretary-general. According to Puan, the position of secretary-general will be discussed in the congress.

"Later we will discuss the secretary general at the congress, there must be a structural update from the top to the bottom," said Puan.