‘Everything is clear now’: What Jokowi’s Indonesian Solidarity Party membership means for his family
Ending months of speculation over his political affiliations, former Indonesian President Joko Widodo revealed last Saturday (Sep 26) that he has been a member of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) since October 2025.
Former Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Jan 26, 2024. (File Photo: REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
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JAKARTA: Ending months of political speculation around his party affiliations, former Indonesian President Joko Widodo has revealed that he is a member of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), a 12-year-old party that his family has adopted in recent years as its political vehicle.
Jokowi, as the 65-year-old is also known, made the announcement on Saturday (Sep 26) during a PSI regional coordination meeting in Bandung, West Java, where his youngest son Kaesang Pangarep – who is the party chairman – and senior PSI officials were also present.
“I actually joined the PSI family back on Oct 14, 2025, a year ago. Many people don’t believe it, so I’m revealing my membership card right now,” said Jokowi, brandishing his PSI card and reading out its membership number.
“Everything is clear now. Don’t let anyone doubt that I am already part of the big PSI family,” he said, in response to audience chants of “Long live Jokowi!”
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Jokowi’s PSI announcement comes nearly two years after his relationship with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) formally ended in December 2024.
His split with PDI-P is significant given that the party had backed his rise from mayor of Solo in Central Java in 2005 to governor of Jakarta in 2012 and eventually the presidency in 2014.
But that relationship has been souring since October 2023, when it was announced that Jokowi’s eldest son, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, then still a PDI-P member, would run in the February 2024 election with Prabowo, who heads the Gerindra Party. This meant that Jokowi did not back PDI-P’s own presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo. Gibran – who left PDI-P by 2024 – ran under Prabowo’s Koalisi Indonesia Maju (KIM) ticket.
Jokowi said he decided to announce his PSI membership in Bandung as he believes PSI’s organisational structure in the city is already established. The party has already filled up the organisational positions for district and village levels in Bandung.
PSI was formed by former journalists Grace Natalie and Isyana Bagus Oka, as well as politician Jeffrie Geovanie and academic Raja Juli Antoni in November 2014 during Jokowi’s first presidency.
The party has contested two national elections, 2019 and 2024, without winning a seat in the House of Representatives.
It received about 1.9 per cent of votes in the 2019 legislative election and improved its performance to about 2.8 per cent in 2024, but remained below the 4 per cent threshold required to enter parliament.
Experts told CNA that Jokowi’s move to join PSI has implications beyond the party.
“With PSI serving as his new vehicle, Jokowi now has the backing to focus on his goal for 2029,” said political researcher Wasisto Raharjo Jati from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), referring to when the next election will be held.
It could also give him a platform to maintain his political influence and bolster his family’s political careers, particularly those of his sons Kaesang and Gibran, experts said.
Although Gibran has attended PSI events, including the party’s 2025 congress, he is not publicly known to be a PSI member nor a member of any other political party following his exit from PDI-P.
“With Jokowi officially joining PSI, there is a significant possibility that Gibran will join the party as well. Since leaving PDI-P, Gibran has not yet found a new political home,” said Wasisto.
“Given the current situation, PSI appears to be the most likely option, especially since his younger brother serves as the party’s chairman and his father is also involved.”
He added that Jokowi’s involvement with PSI could help preserve his political relevance by keeping him in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, political analyst Dominique Nicky Fahrizal of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta said Jokowi’s membership is significant for PSI, with his political influence potentially helping the relatively young party attract voters and strengthen its organisation.
“The “Jokowi factor” remains electorally potent in Indonesia. Jokowi joining PSI will strengthen the party structurally and remind people of the successes achieved during his two terms in office. This is the sentiment that will be rekindled, prompting many potential voters to cast their ballots for PSI,” said Nicky.
The development is particularly significant for Gibran, analysts said, as Jokowi’s political network and influence could provide an important base should his eldest son seek a larger role in national politics, especially in the next election.
The 38-year-old has been serving under President Prabowo Subianto since October 2024. The duo won the election with a landslide 58.59 per cent against two other pairs. Prabowo himself has acknowledged Jokowi’s contribution to the campaign.
JOKOWI’S HISTORY WITH PSI
For months, Jokowi stopped short of formally declaring himself a PSI member even as his ties to the party became increasingly visible and his relationship with PDI-P founder and chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri showed signs of strain.
Indonesia’s seventh president has travelled around Indonesia in recent months to help build up PSI.
In June, he travelled to Lampung with PSI officials and spoke openly about building the party into a force capable of entering parliament in 2029.
At the time, Jokowi was not publicly known to be a PSI member, but he wore PSI’s attire.
A month later, Jokowi travelled to East Nusa Tenggara province with 31-year-old Kaesang and also attended a PSI meeting.
In view of how PSI has yet to have a seat in the national House of Representatives in its last two attempts, Jokowi urged members on Saturday to work hard to ensure the party will be represented in the next election in 2029.
He told them to approach the various communities in Bandung and expand their networks to religious, youth, and women’s leaders and that simply establishing local party branches was not enough.
“We hope that our shared aspiration for PSI to become a major party will truly be realised,” said Jokowi.
POLITICAL VEHICLE FOR THE JOKOWI FAMILY
Analysts said Jokowi’s decision provides greater clarity over where the former president intends to anchor his political influence after his departure from PDI-P.
It also further intertwines the political fortunes of PSI with those of his family, they said.
Kaesang joined PSI in September 2023 and was appointed chairman just days later, despite having no previous political experience. He was re-elected as chairman in July 2025.
Jokowi has since taken an increasingly active role in helping PSI build its organisation.
In Lampung on Jun 28, the former president’s first public political tour since leaving office in October 2024, he said: “If the goal is simply to get into Senayan (referring to parliament, which is located in the district), I’m confident we can.”
“But the target we’re aiming for is a big one. Therefore, the (election) machine must also be large and powerful.”
Political analyst Nicky from CSIS said Jokowi’s stature as a two-term former president could translate into both organisational influence and electoral appeal for PSI.
His involvement could therefore increase the party’s chances of attracting voters.
A stronger PSI would in turn provide the Jokowi family with something it currently lacks: a political party with representation in the national legislature that is closely associated with the family.
Meanwhile, Wasisto from BRIN told CNA that Jokowi’s political activities after leaving office were a way of demonstrating that he remained relevant.
“With Jokowi’s official statement (that he is a PSI member), this is a sign of another war in the political world,” he said, referring to political power play.
“Besides, he also needs an official and legitimate political vehicle, as he also needs protection since Jokowi has been the target of numerous political attacks,” he said, citing an ongoing case where some are questioning the legitimacy of Jokowi’s undergraduate certificate.
But whether Jokowi’s son Gibran could take advantage of his father’s PSI membership remains to be seen, he added.
Nicky told CNA Jokowi’s influence could be a political machine to increase Gibran’s popularity or to get him to join PSI.
But both analysts cautioned that Gibran’s political future will depend on several factors, including his performance in government, his relationship with Prabowo, and the political configuration ahead of the 2029 election.
Meanwhile, Kaesang has announced his intention to run for the legislature in 2029 in Puan Maharani’s electoral district in Central Java.
Puan is the current speaker of the House of Representatives and the daughter of Megawati, while Central Java has long been considered the stronghold of PDI-P.
Therefore, analysts said it will be a fierce psychological battle, as neither party would want to lose.
CAN PSI ENTER PARLIAMENT IF THERE’S A NEW THRESHOLD?
But whether Jokowi can translate his personal popularity into enough votes for PSI to secure a seat in the national parliament remains unclear.
The actual threshold for the 2029 election, however, has yet to be settled.
Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2024 that the existing 4 per cent parliamentary threshold should be revised before the 2029 election.
The court did not prescribe a replacement figure, leaving parliament and the government to formulate the new provision under criteria laid down in its ruling.
Jokowi has nevertheless set his sights considerably higher for 2029.
In Bandung on Saturday, Jokowi said that PSI should not be afraid even if the eventual parliamentary threshold were raised.
“Whether it’s 5 per cent – that’s fine. Six per cent – fine. Seven per cent – fine. Even 8 per cent is fine,” he said.
The parliamentary threshold is among a wider set of electoral rules now under discussion as lawmakers work on revisions to Indonesia’s election law.
These include the electoral system, the division between national and local elections and other rules governing political competition.
Some civil society groups have argued for a lower ceiling, saying a high threshold can leave millions of votes without representation in parliament.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House’s Commission II, M Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, said earlier this year that he favoured retaining a threshold and suggested that a figure between 5 per cent and 7 per cent could strengthen the party system and government effectiveness.
Commission II oversees matters related to domestic governance and elections, among others.
Political elites from the ruling party informally discussed the 5 per cent threshold about two weeks ago, but an official discussion in the House of Representatives will likely only happen in 2027.
There is no consensus over when the new parliamentary threshold should be set.
Analysts said that if the threshold is raised to 5 per cent, it will be hard for PSI to make it into parliament.
Nicky of CSIS said that the threshold should ultimately allow viable new political forces to enter parliament and contribute to checks and balances, rather than unnecessarily closing the system to alternatives.
“We need a breath of fresh air in parliament to ensure checks and balances function effectively,” said Nicky.
“We need new parties bringing new ideas and fresh faces.”
Source: CNA/ks(ao)
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