Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto recently said that he would not become a candidate in the 2029 election if he finds his current presidency to be disappointing by the fourth year.

Prabowo finally rose to power in late October after losing the election twice to his predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. His current term will last until 2029. Ahmad Muzani, a senior official to Prabowo’s Gerindra, recently revealed that the party had nominated the retired army general for the next presidential race. 

Many find the announcement to be quite early as it had only been a few months since Prabowo became president. Prabowo, too, commented on the early nomination when attending a congress of the Democratic Party, which is part of the giant political alliance that had backed him in the previous election.

“Just yesterday, my party nominated me for the 2029 [election].... Hey, I have only been in office for 100 days, and they are already telling me to compete,” Prabowo said at the Democratic Party’s congress in Jakarta on Wednesday evening.

“But I told them that if by my fourth year, I’m disappointed by my achievements [as president], I will not run [for president] in 2029. I would feel ashamed to face the Indonesian people,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo’s current presidency is synonymous with his signature free meal program. Indonesia is currently distributing government-aided school meals as a means to bring down the national stunting rate. Prabowo recently launched Indonesia’s second sovereign wealth fund Danantara, whose assets under management were said to be able to top $900 billion. 

The congress saw Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) getting re-elected as the Democratic Party's chairman for the 2025-2030 period. His reelection solidified the party’s alignment with Prabowo’s administration. AHY, who is also the son of Ex-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, currently serves as the chief infrastructure development minister.