PKB's Step to Target Cak Imin as Presidential Candidate for 2029 Deemed Logical and Strategic
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Adi Prayitno, Executive Director of Parameter Politik Indonesia, assesses that the National Awakening Party’s (PKB) step to target its general chairman, Muhaimin Iskandar or Cak Imin, as the presidential candidate for 2029 is a logical and strategic decision.
According to Adi, PKB now has a significant opportunity to field its own candidate following the abolition of the presidential nomination threshold by the Constitutional Court (MK).
“PKB is firmly targeting Cak Imin as the presidential candidate. And it is imperative for them to do so because PKB has a boarding pass to run independently as the presidential threshold is now zero percent,” said Adi to Kompas.com on Sunday (12/4/2026).
In the context of PKB, Cak Imin is considered almost certain to secure the nomination ticket due to the lack of strong internal rivals.
“Of course, Cak Imin will smoothly obtain the ticket to run from PKB because there are no internal competitors,” he stated.
Adi also sees several political advantages if PKB truly nominates Cak Imin as the presidential candidate in the 2029 General Election.
One of them is the coattail effect on legislative vote gains.
“This was proven when Cak Imin ran as the vice-presidential candidate in 2024, PKB’s legislative votes increased,” he said.
Additionally, the presidential candidacy is seen as providing long-term political incentives by increasing public recognition of Cak Imin, even after the 2029 election concludes.
This step is also considered capable of significantly elevating Cak Imin’s political position.
“Cak Imin’s political level will rise to a higher class,” he remarked.
However, Adi warns that if PKB only targets the vice-presidential position, such a move could lead to stagnation, given that Cak Imin has already run as the vice-presidential candidate in 2024 alongside Anies Baswedan.
He added that the opportunity to become a vice-presidential candidate is also not easy, especially if competing with many other candidates in a scenario supporting the elected president.