Golkar Views Two-Term Limit for Party Leaders as Preventing Power Concentration

Golkar’s Deputy Chairman Yahya Zaini has responded to the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) proposal regarding limiting the leadership tenure of party chairmen to two terms. According to him, term limits are necessary to prevent the accumulation of power.

“In a democratic system, political positions are limited to just two terms, such as the president, governors, and regents/mayors. This is to avoid power concentration that could lead to the possibility of corruption,” Yahya told reporters on Thursday (23/4/2026).

However, he believes that such limits do not apply to legislative positions like the DPR and DPRD. This is because their power depends on the choice of the people.

“But for political positions like the DPR and DPRD, there is no need for limits because they are in accordance with the people’s choice. This applies in democratic countries around the world. Because the power of the DPR is based on the institution, not on individuals,” he said.

Furthermore, Yahya views limiting the tenure of party chairmen as important for encouraging cadre development and leadership circulation within the party. He cited his own party as an example, which frequently conducts cadre development for chairmen.

“For the position of party chairman, it would be good if it were limited to allow for cadre development and leadership circulation within the party,” he said.

“In Golkar itself, the chairman realistically serves a maximum of two terms. So I agree if the tenure of party chairmen is limited to just two terms, and for Golkar, this is already commonplace. So that the party’s strength does not depend solely on one figure,” he added.

However, he stated that cadre development and leadership circulation are needed. In addition, political rejuvenation is also required.

“This is also in line with the increasing number of voters from the Gen Z and millennial generations. It is estimated that in the 2029 elections, they will make up 60-70 percent of voters. So, rejuvenating party chairmen becomes inevitable,” he said.

“However, ultimately it depends on the agreement of the political parties during the discussion of amendments to the Political Law, especially the Political Parties Law,” he added.

Previously, the KPK had conducted a study on the governance of political parties (parpol) to prevent corruption. One of them is the KPK’s proposal for a limit on the leadership tenure of party chairmen to two terms.

This study was conducted by the KPK in 2025 through the Monitoring Directorate. The KPK identified four points that need improvement in Indonesia’s party system and provided 16 recommendations.

“To ensure the implementation of cadre development, regulations are needed to limit the leadership of party chairmen to a maximum of two terms of office,” states one of the recommendations from the KPK study, quoted from detikcom, on Thursday (23/4).