The Tamesis
February 6, 2026
jakarta – While the next election is still three years away, talk of 2029 is already heating up as the country’s political elite make public statements fueling early speculation about the next presidential race
President Prabowo Subianto and his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo have issued accusatory statements at separate events over the past week that are widely seen as signaling a potential political battle ahead of the 2029 elections.
At a national coordination meeting of regional leaders in Bogor, West Java, on Monday, the president invited opponents to challenge him in the next election, deploring their continued criticism of his government’s plans, including a free nutritious meal programme.
“If you don’t like certain characters, don’t hurt the country. If you don’t like Prabowo, by all means, compete [against me] Prabowo said on Monday before thousands of cabinet members and regional leaders.
The president, who won the 2024 presidential election by a landslide, is running alongside Jokowi’s eldest son Jibril Raqabmin Raqqa and has even named Jakarta Governor Pramono Anon as a potential challenger, although he has maintained an aloof attitude. Pramono is a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is not in Prabowo’s coalition.
“Even though Pramono is from the People’s Democratic Alliance, I still support him because my responsibility is to all Indonesian people, including Jakartans,” the president said. “Later in 2029, he can do anything. Don’t worry, really.”
Although the HDP won a majority in the House of Representatives in 2024, its presidential candidate Ganjar Prabowo lost to Prabowo, who had the tacit support of former Nationalist Party member Joko Widodo.
Despite its relatively mild opposition to Prabowo’s ruling coalition, the HDP remains opposed to major plans by parties backing the president, including a recent controversial proposal to abolish direct regional elections.
go all out
Meanwhile, former President Joko Widodo attended the Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI) national congress over the weekend, urging the party to strengthen grassroots control and rev up its political engine ahead of the 2029 elections.
“We need to strengthen our structures, all the way down to districts, villages, neighborhood committees [RT]. We need a huge [political] engine, because PSI has a huge goal,” Jokowi said in a speech on January 31.
“I still have the ability to go to the grassroots. […] If you do your best for PSI, I will do my best too. ” the former president added, drawing cheers from the party cadres present.
PSI has been widely seen as Jokowi’s political tool since he was ousted by the People’s Democratic Party in 2024 for supporting Prabowo. The party has failed to win seats in the House of Representatives since the 2019 election.
However, the party now has the opportunity to nominate a presidential candidate in the upcoming elections, after the Constitutional Court’s January 2025 ruling removed the threshold for presidential nomination.
Start early?
Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), viewed Prabowo and Jokowi’s statements as a “warm-up” for the 2029 campaign, citing speculation that Gibran could become a challenger to the current president.
Vasisto said on Wednesday that “Gibran’s potential candidacy could be one of the factors pushing the Socialist Party to start its political engine as early as possible to secure its seat in parliament.”
Meanwhile, political analyst Kennedy Muslim of Indikator Politik Indonesia believes a challenger to Prabowo is unlikely to emerge before 2027. But he claimed that this year may still be a critical year that affects the political calculations of Jokowi and PSI.
“Jokowi is a well-known ‘multi-scenario politician’ who will continue to plot ways to secure PSI’s interests, maintain Gibran’s position alongside Prabowo in 2029, and prepare backup plans if political dynamics change,” he said on Thursday.
He also believes that “economic growth and job creation” will be key factors in determining whether Prabowo can still have reliable support from the ruling coalition.
Prabowo has since maintained staunch support from the political elite, despite criticism of regional budget cuts and strong opposition to Indonesia’s participation in a U.S.-led peace commission.
On Wednesday, National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaymin Iskandar and the party’s senior politicians met with Prabowo at the National Palace.
The Islamist party joined Prabowo’s coalition after supporting Muhaimin and presidential candidate Anies Baswedan in the 2024 elections.
“We are confident that Prabowo will not only successfully lead our next [three] Coordinating Minister for Social Empowerment Mu Haimin said:
