Kaesang to Contest Same Electoral District as Puan: It's Every Party's Right

Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Puan Maharani has responded to the plan by Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Chairman Kaesang Pangarep to run in the same electoral district as her, namely Central Java V, in the 2029 legislative election.

“It is the right of every political party to put forward any name in all electoral districts,” she said at the parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (12/8).

Meanwhile, PDIP Central Board Chairman Ganjar Pranowo said that all citizens, including Kaesang Pangarep, have the right to stand as candidates for the House of Representatives (DPR RI).

“The public has rights, and the state protects the right to participate in government, so anyone may do so,” said Ganjar at the PDIP Central Board building in Central Jakarta on Sunday (26/7).

PSI Chairman Kaesang Pangarep announced that he will run as a DPR RI candidate from Central Java V electoral district in the 2029 election. The announcement was made during the Regional Coordination Meeting of the Solo City PSI Regional Board, attended by the Central Java PSI Regional Executive Board, the Solo PSI Regional Board, the Cilacap PSI Regional Board, and hundreds of cadres at the branch and sub-branch levels in Solo, Central Java, on Saturday (25/7) evening.

“The message I conveyed earlier was not my message as chairman, but my message as a prospective legislative candidate for the Republic of Indonesia from Central Java V electoral district. God willing, I will accompany all cadres, especially in Solo,” he said.

Central Java V electoral district covers Surakarta City, Sukoharjo Regency, Klaten Regency, and Boyolali Regency. Puan has stood in this district since 2009, when she obtained 242,504 votes and was elected as a DPR RI member.

Puan then stood in the same district in the 2024 election and succeeded in securing the most votes with 297,366 ballots.