The 2025 PWI Unity Congress is Ready to be Held, with Support from 8 Provinces Required to Become a Candidate for General Chair

Requirements To Become Candidates For General Chair Must Be Supported By 8 Provinces. (SPC)

JAKARTA – The 2025 Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Congress is ready to begin. The Steering Committee (SC) has officially set the requirements for nominations for General Chairperson: each prospective candidate must have the support of at least 20 percent of PWI Provinces, or eight provinces.

Registration is free. "We want the process to be truly open and fair for all PWI cadres," said SC Chair Zulkifli Gani Ottoh after a meeting in the Press Council Hall on Monday, August 4.

The SC also formed a Selection Team for General Chairperson Candidates, consisting of seven SC members and three from the Organizing Committee (OC): OC Chair Marthen Selamet Susanto, Deputy Chair Raja Parlindungan Pane, and Secretary TB. Adhi.

"This decision is solid and open. We welcome it for the smooth running of the congress," said Raja Parlindungan.

The SC meeting was attended by all seven members, including two replacements for Atal S. Depari and the late Wina Armada Sukardi. They are Zulkifli Gani Ottoh, Totok Suryanto, Dwikora Putra, Zacky Anthony, Lutfi L. Hakim, Marah Sakti Siregar, and Diapari Sibatangkayu.

The issue of the Banten PWI's participation was also resolved. Two factions—the results of the Provincial Conference and the Extraordinary General Meeting—were declared legitimate participants. Each faction will receive one vote from the three votes cast. The Supreme Court (SC) will invite both parties this week. "This decision is in the spirit of unity," Zulkifli emphasized.

For the Final Voter List (DPT), the SC decided to use the DPT from the 2023 Bandung PWI Congress. "This is also the aspiration and agreement of the two PWI Chairmen," he added.

The SC and OC agreed that the term of office of the results of the 2025 PWI Congress would be five years, from 2025 to 2030. This step was taken to restore normalcy to the organization after the 2023 Bandung Congress failed to proceed as expected. "It's only been a year and there's already dualism. This means the previous management was not normal," said Zulkifli.

The OC stated that technical preparations are 70 percent complete. The congress will be held on August 29–30, 2025, at BPPTIK Komdigi in Cikarang, Bekasi. "Invitations to participants will be sent out tomorrow," Zulkifli concluded.