TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chair of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Kaesang Pangarep has revealed his intention to run as a legislative candidate for the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) in the 2029 General Election. Kaesang announced his plan to the party cadres while attending the Regional Coordination Meeting (Rakorda) of the Regional Leadership Council (DPD) of the PSI in Surakarta City, on Saturday night, July 25, 2026.
During the event, Kaesang stated that he did not want to give many directives to the PSI Surakarta cadres because the Chair of DPD and the Regional Leadership Council (DPW) of PSI had already addressed those issues. He only requested all cadres to strengthen their presence within the community.
"Today, I will not provide any directives or anything because I think everything has already been conveyed by the Chair of the DPD and DPW, and it should be done by all the cadres present tonight," said Kaesang.
The youngest son of former President Joko Widodo gave examples of how PSI cadres should actively participate in community social activities, from attending religious studies to paying respects when there is a bereaved family.
"One example is being present in the community. Whether there's a religious study, we join; if someone passes away, we come as part of the community to express condolences to our neighbors or friends," he said.
Kaesang also requested the PSI Surakarta cadres to maintain solidarity, especially in preparing for the 2029 General Election. He reminded potential legislative candidates not to engage in internal competition that would disadvantage the party.
During the event, Kaesang asked cadres who intended to run as candidates for the Surakarta City Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) in the 2029 General Election to raise their hands. Seeing a considerable number of cadres raising their hands during the Rakorda, he referred to the enthusiasm of cadres wanting to run as an asset for PSI to increase its vote acquisition.
"With this kind of spirit, it looks good as well. If many are interested in running as candidates, then Solo will be the target as previously explained by the chairman; are 15 willing?" Kaesang said.
However, he requested that future PSI candidates divide their political work areas to avoid competing for votes among candidates.
"One of those is that the candidates in the future must divide the territory. Why? So there won't be friction, so they won't eat into each other's votes," he said.
According to Kaesang, conflicts between candidates within a party often occur due to having the same voter base. He stated that this situation should be avoided from the beginning.
"I know usually the first and second candidates clash because their voter bases are the same, and no one wants to back down. As a result, they end up fighting internally. I do not want such things to happen in the 2029 General Election," he said.
Kaesang also requested cadres who are not running as candidates to continue supporting the party's struggle and help PSI win in the 2029 General Election.
"For the 2029 structure, for those who are not running as candidates, I ask for your help and support so that we can continue to be solid in order to win the upcoming election in 2029," he said.
He emphasized that the PSI target in Surakarta must be accompanied by the collective effort of all cadres. Kaesang also asked cadres to maintain solidarity throughout the process leading up to the 2029 General Election.
Kaesang stated that the message conveyed was not as the party's chairman but because he would run as a legislative candidate for the Indonesian House of Representatives. He mentioned that he would run from the Electoral District (Dapil) 5 of Central Java, which covers the regions of Surakarta, Sukoharjo, Boyolali, and Klaten.
However, Kaesang ensured that his political work area in preparation for the 2029 General Election would only be in Surakarta or Solo, as other regions had already been allocated to other PSI cadres.
"The message I conveyed earlier was not as the party's chairman, but as a prospective legislative candidate for Dapil 5 of Central Java. God willing, I will accompany all cadres, especially in Solo because the territory assigned to me is only in the city of Solo," said Kaesang.
With the focus in Surakarta, he mentioned that he must not involve other areas such as Boyolali, Klaten, or Sukoharjo. However, he hoped that the PSI's target to enter the national parliament in the 2029 General Election could be achieved.
"I'm not allowed to involve Boyolali because it has been allocated to others. The same goes for Sukoharjo, and Klaten has been given its territory to others. I'm only caught up in Solo, but I hope that our target for 2029 is truly ambitious," said Kaesang.
On the other hand, Kaesang mentioned that his visit to Surakarta was actually related to the agenda of Persis Solo. However, because it coincided with the Rakorda of the PSI Surakarta City Regional Leadership Council, he also announced his candidacy for the legislative position here.
"I went to Solo actually just for Persis Solo, but it so happened that there was a Rakorda of the PSI City Solo, so I announced that I will be a candidate here," said Kaesang.
The head of the PSI Central Java Regional Leadership Council, Antonius Yogo Prabowo, expressed his surprise at the announcement by the Chair of the PSI, Kaesang Pangarep, stating that he will run as a candidate for the Indonesian House of Representatives from Dapil 5 of Central Java in the 2029 General Election. According to him, the announcement was only known by the PSI Central Java's board when the event was taking place. Nevertheless, he considered Kaesang's move to be a positive energy for the party's political work, especially in Surakarta and Central Java.
"First, we were surprised because honestly, it was only at this place and moment that Mr. Chair Kaesang announced that he will run as a legislative candidate in the 2029 General Election. This is a positive development for our political work, especially in the Electoral District 5 of Central Java, in Surakarta, and particularly in Central Java," said Yogo.
Yogo stated that the PSI Central Java will immediately follow up on this decision by holding organizational consolidation. The consolidation will involve all levels of management from the DPD, DPC, to the DPRT. Additionally, the party will also strengthen its socialization efforts up to the neighborhood and community levels.
"We are intensively socializing, up to the neighborhood and community levels, so the victory we have set will be followed up in the field," he said.
He emphasized that all cadres in Central Java have been instructed to ensure Kaesang's victory in the 5th Electoral District of Central Java. According to him, the decision for Kaesang to run in that electoral district is both an honor and a responsibility for the entire party structure. Therefore, all cadres are requested to work hard to ensure the victory of the Chairman of the PSI.
"Our instruction is to secure Kaesang's victory in the 5th Electoral District without exception. This is our pride, our chairman has decided and declared that he will run in the 5th Electoral District of Central Java. There are no other words for us but to work hard to win," he said.
In response to questions about the competition in the 5th Electoral District of Central Java, which is also inhabited by the incumbent from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Puan Maharani, Yogo refused to discuss other candidates. He stated that the PSI's current focus is to introduce and campaign for Kaesang Pangarep as the party's representative in that electoral district. He hoped that Kaesang's candidacy would be positively received by the public.
"Today, our focus is specifically on our legislative candidate, Kaesang, as the chair. Hopefully, this will also be a good thing and be well-received by the public. There's a young man who will run in the 5th Electoral District of Central Java," he said.
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