Puan Maharani Responds to Kaesang's Plan to Contest Same Electoral District in 2029

Jakarta (ANTARA) - PDI Perjuangan central board chairwoman Puan Maharani has responded to the plan by Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) chairman Kaesang Pangarep to stand in the same electoral district as her in the 2029 legislative election.

Puan, who is also speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), said that fielding prominent figures in a particular electoral district is the right of every political party.

“It is the right of every political party to put forward any name in all electoral districts,” she said briefly when met at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Puan’s response was in line with the remarks of PDI-P central board official Ganjar Pranowo, who earlier said that everyone, including Kaesang Pangarep, has the right to stand as a candidate for the Indonesian House of Representatives.

“Well, the public should have the right, and the state protects the right to participate in government, so anyone may do so,” he said when met at the PDI Perjuangan central board building in Central Jakarta on Sunday (26/7).

The announcement was made by Kaesang while delivering a speech at the Solo City PSI regional leadership coordination meeting, which was attended by the Central Java PSI regional board, the Solo PSI board, the Cilacap PSI board, and hundreds of cadres at branch and sub-branch level in Solo, Central Java, on Saturday evening (25/7).

On that occasion, Kaesang called on the entire party structure in Solo to maintain unity and said he would stand alongside the cadres in the area.

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

Puan first stood as a candidate for the Indonesian House of Representatives in the 2009 election from Central Java Electoral District V, which covers Surakarta City, Sukoharjo Regency, Klaten Regency, and Boyolali Regency. She won 242,504 votes and was elected as a member of the DPR.

In the 2024 election, Puan again stood from the same electoral district. She garnered the most votes in Central Java Electoral District V with 297,366 votes.