Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – In a reconciliatory gesture, the National Democratic Party (Nasdem) announced on Thursday that it has invited both President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto to separately attend its upcoming congress and deliver the opening and closing remarks.

Jokowi is slated to open the three-day congress in August, while Prabowo is expected to conclude the event, the party said in a statement.

Nasdem broke away from the pro-government coalition in 2022 and nominated former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan – a staunch critic of Jokowi – for president.

In the three-way presidential election, Anies was defeated by Prabowo, who teamed up with Jokowi's eldest son as his running mate.

Nasdem Chairman Surya Paloh was among the first political leaders to congratulate Prabowo and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, indicating that he didn't want to prolong the rivalry with the government coalition it used to be part of.

Nasdem's national congress will be held at the Jakarta Convention Centre starting on August 25.

Willy Aditya, the provincial chapter leader of Nasdem, said the congress will be a mix of in-person and virtual conferences, involving around 100,000 Nasdem executives across the country.

In addition to the internal political agenda, the congress will collect donations for Palestinians suffering from the ongoing military aggression by Israel under the "ten dollars for humanity" program, Willy said.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/nasdem-claims-its-congress-will-be-opened-by-jokowi-closed-by-prabow