35th NU Congress Decides PBNU Chairman to Be Elected via AHWA

The 35th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress has decided that the election mechanism for the Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU) will use the Ahlul Halli wal Aqdi (AHWA) system. The decision marks a new chapter in the process of selecting the PBNU’s top leadership.

The decision was reached after lengthy deliberations on the PBNU Chairman election mechanism in the Organisation Commission session at the Bahrul Ulum Islamic Boarding School multipurpose hall in Tambakberas, Jombang, East Java, in the early hours of Sunday (30/8/2026).

The Chair of the Organisation Commission session, Prof Mohammad Nuh, said that before reaching the decision, the commission had sought common ground between two views: direct election by congress participants or the AHWA system.

“From the results of the discussions in the Organisation Commission, we have tried to find common ground on the election method, whether to use one man one vote as before, where every congress participant elects the chairman, or to change to AHWA,” Prof Nuh said after the session.

According to him, the difference of opinion was ultimately resolved through a voting mechanism. Of the 552 valid votes cast, 401 congress participants approved the change to the PBNU Chairman election mechanism. Meanwhile, 150 participants wanted the election mechanism to remain with the previous system, and one vote was declared invalid.

“So, we have tried to find common ground, but in the end the common ground was found by voting,” Prof Nuh said.

With this result, he said, the discussion in the next session will be directed towards formulating the technical mechanism for electing the PBNU Chairman through AHWA.

Prof Nuh explained that the process will begin with the tabulation of candidates for AHWA members. Once the AHWA members are determined, they will deliberate to determine the Rais Aam of the PBNU.