diff --git a/mesonbuild/minstall.py b/mesonbuild/minstall.py
index ad63a3491..4615b6dd9 100644
--- a/mesonbuild/minstall.py
+++ b/mesonbuild/minstall.py
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ class Installer:
                 print('Installation failed due to insufficient permissions.')
                 print('Attempting to use polkit to gain elevated privileges...')
                 os.execlp('pkexec', 'pkexec', sys.executable, main_file, *sys.argv[1:],
-                          os.getcwd())
+                          '-C', os.getcwd())
             else:
                 raise