Jakarta. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will retain Puan Maharani as the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the next five years, a party executive confirmed on Monday.

PDI-P is the only incumbent party which has not declared support for the upcoming government under Prabowo Subianto, facing the prospect of opposing a large pro-government coalition. This could potentially put Puan's speakership at risk if the party assumes an opposition role.

However, PDI-P lawmaker Said Abdullah maintained that Puan will be renominated for the position of House Speaker in accordance with the current law.

The 2019 law on the legislature stipulates that the party with the most votes in the last legislative election is entitled to the House speakership. While the law can be amended by a majority vote, it currently favors PDI-P, which secured just over 16 percent of the popular vote, maintaining its status as the largest party in the lower chamber -- though its share of votes has declined from the previous 21 percent.

"PDI-P will put forward Madame Puan Maharani as the sole candidate for the House speaker," Said Abdullah said. He added that the nominations for other leadership positions in both the House and the People’s Consultative Assembly would be announced at a later date.

House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), confirmed that his party has no plans to amend the current legislative law, a position that is also supported by its coalition partners.

"The selection of the House speaker and deputy speakers will follow existing regulations," Dasco said.

Puan, the daughter of PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, made history five years ago when she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.

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