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ext week, Muhammadiyah, the country'€™s second largest Muslim organization, will elect a new chair to replace outgoing chair Din Syamsuddin in the upcoming 47th national congress in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Din has been at the helm of the Muslim organization since 2005, replacing Ahmad Syafii Maarif.

Many members in the 104-year-old organization with around 35 million followers, believed that whoever is selected to be Din'€™s successor, must continue his work in making changes in the educational, social, medical, economic and political fields.

In the education sector, Muhammadiyah controls as many as 4,623 kindergartens, 2,604 elementary schools, 1,772 high junior schools, 1,143 high schools and 67 Islamic boarding schools as well as around 172 universities and 71 special needs schools in the archipelago.

Meanwhile, in the health and religious sectors, Muhammadiyah owns around 457 hospitals, 318 orphanages, 54 senior citizens'€™ houses and 82 rehabilitation houses for disabled people as well as 6,118 mosques and 5,080 mushollas (prayer rooms) in Indonesia.

Din said his successor must ensure the running of those Muhammadiyah entities to continue bringing positive impacts for people across the country regardless of their race or religion.

As Din is barred from running for a third term, the upcoming leadership selection process is expected to be tight with at least 83 of Muhammadiyah'€™s members having registered for 13 leadership posts in the organization'€™s central board.

The candidates include former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chair Busyro Muqoddas, Malang Muhammadiyah University rector Muhadjir Effendy, Yunahar Ilyas, a current member of Muhammadiyah'€™s board of leadership, Muhammadiyah'€™s treasurer Zamroni, Muhammadiyah'€™s general secretary Agung Danarto, Muhammadiyah Youth Association head Sukriyanto AR and Muhammadiyah'€™s Secretary Abdul Mu'€™ti.

Prior to the congress, a forum called Tanwir meeting will select 39 out of the 83 aspiring candidates through a popular voting mechanism held Aug. 1 to 3. The 39 candidates will then be brought to the Makassar congress to be selected by around 2,500 participants.

After participants select 13 names for Muhammadiyah'€™s board of leaders, the 13 new leaders will hold a closed-door meeting of their own to appoint one member who will lead Muhammadiyah from 2015
to 2020.

If no agreement is reached, the 13 members will vote to settle the disagreement.

Of all the candidates for the top job, Busyro is considered the most well-known figure among the 83 registered candidates due to his achievements when leading the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) between 2010 and 2014.

Busyro was born on July 17, 1952, in Yogyakarta, Muhammadiyah'€™s city of origin when it was first established by the respected founder, Islamic cleric Ahmad Dahlan, during Dutch colonial rule in 1912.

Abdul Mu`ti'€™s name emerged as one of the strongest candidates to replace Din due to his vast experience in Muhammadiyah. He currently serves as the organization'€™s secretary.

He is well known for his campaign for equal religious rights for beleaguered religious minority groups in Indonesia like the Ahmadiyah and Shia branches of Islam.

Another strong candidate is Yunahar Ilyas, who rose to prominence when he was selected as the chair of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for five years from 2005 to 2010.

The 59-year-old Yunahar has been a professor at the Islamic Science department at Muhammadiyah University in Yogyakarta since 1987.

Another popular figure in the election is Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, a former People'€™s Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker, who is also a respected senior Golkar Party politician. He served as a House of Representatives lawmaker from 1997 to 2014.