NU hands clerics greater power in historic change to leadership election
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has decided to elect its next chairman indirectly through a council of senior clerics, abandoning the one-member-one-vote system as disagreements persisted ahead of the planned election of chairman of the country’s largest Muslim organization on Sunday night.
The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, has made a historic change to its leadership election process. The decision, made during the group's 35th national congress in Jombang, East Java, will see clerics electing their next chairman indirectly through a council of senior officials, known as the Ahlul Halli wal-aqdi (AHWA).
This marks the first time in NU's history, as the group has traditionally used a one-member-one-vote system. The AHWA, a nine-member council of senior NU clerics, will now be responsible for selecting the group's chairman, with delegates representing NU regional branches merely nominating candidates. The decision was overwhelmingly approved by 401 of 552 eligible delegates, with 150 voting to retain the direct voting system and one ballot declared invalid.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
