Reasons Why PAN Only Invited Gerindra to Halalbihalal Event

The National Mandate Party held a halalbihalal event after Eid al-Fitr 2026 without inviting external parties. However, PAN Chairman Zulkifli Hasan stated that the decision not to invite outsiders from PAN’s management was excepted for Gerindra party officials. Zulkifli said the invited Gerindra officials were Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi. Dasco was seen present among the PAN central executive board officials at the halalbihalal event. Zulkifli said the event was deliberately designed to be closed because it would be followed by PAN’s national working meeting. “Our halalbihalal today indeed does not invite (others), because it’s internal, as it will be followed by the national working meeting,” he said at the PAN central executive board office in South Jakarta on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. Prasetyo Hadi was not seen at the PAN event at all. Meanwhile, the President’s Special Envoy for Youth Development and Arts Workers Raffi Ahmad also attended as an invited guest. Raffi is known to be close to Gerindra and was once appointed as the Chairman of the Victory Team for the 2024 Banten Regional Election for the gubernatorial candidate pair supported by Gerindra. Zulkifli said the three invited guests represent the coalition relationship between PAN and Gerindra that has been established for the past 15 years. “Because we consider Gerindra as already part of us. A coalition for all time,” said this Coordinating Minister for Food. On that occasion, Zulkifli assured that PAN would remain loyal to President Prabowo Subianto in good times and bad. He also assured that PAN would succeed all of Prabowo’s government priority programmes such as food self-sufficiency and energy self-sufficiency. PAN is one of the coalition parties supporting the Prabowo government. PAN has been recorded three times in Prabowo’s winning ranks in presidential elections, namely in 2014, 2019, and 2024. In the Merah Putih Cabinet, Zulkifli was tasked by Prabowo to realise various food programmes.