Rais Aam Proposes PBNU Congress on 1-5 August 2026, Location Yet to be Determined

JAKARTA - The Rais Aam of Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), KH Miftachul Akhyar, is said to have proposed that the 35th PBNU Congress be held on 1-5 August 2026.

Miftachul Akhyar’s proposal was disclosed by Muhammad Mukri, Chairman of the PBNU’s Education, Law, and Media Division.

“If the Rais Aam proposes from 1-5 (August),” Mukri told Kompas.com on Monday (4/5/2026).

The only difference occurred with the 34th PBNU Congress in 2021, where the event was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Normally, the Congress is in August, but because of Covid-19 at that time, there was a delay of several months,” Mukri said.

Regarding the location for the 35th PBNU Congress, Mukri revealed that the matter is still being discussed internally.

“The location issue is entirely left to the PBNU General Chairman and Rais Aam, whether in Surabaya or Jakarta, or another location, it hasn’t been decided yet,” Mukri explained.

It is known that Gus Yahya, or Yahya Cholil Staquf in full, was appointed as PBNU General Chairman for the 2021-2027 period at the 34th NU Congress held in Lampung in December 2021.

Gus Yahya replaced Said Aqil Siradj, who had been PBNU General Chairman since 2010 until 2021.

In the PBNU organisational structure, there is a division of authority between the Rais Aam in the Syuriyah element and the General Chairman in the Tanfidziyah element.

The Rais Aam is the highest leader in the NU fraternity, who formally holds the position of Rais Aam Syuriyah PBNU.

Meanwhile, the General Chairman oversees Tanfidziyah, the executive body responsible for carrying out administration, programmes, and organisational operations in accordance with Syuriyah’s decisions.