Final three parties pass KPU screening<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After several days of delay, the General Elections Commission
\n(KPU) announced on Thursday the final three political parties had
\npassed administrative screening and would proceed to field
\nverifications.<\/p>\n
The three parties were identified as the Glorious Marhaen
\nNational Party, the Gotong Royong Party and the Indonesian
\nNationalist Unity Party.<\/p>\n
With the announcement, 40 of 44 political parties have passed
\nthe KPU's administrative screening, one of the requirements for
\ncontesting the 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
Should all 40 parties pass the field verification, Indonesia
\nwill have 46 parties contesting the 2004 elections. Forty-nine
\nparties took part in the last elections in 1999, the first after
\nthe downfall of former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Six parties -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle,
\nGolkar Party, the United Development Party, the National
\nAwakening Party, the National Mandate Party and the Crescent and
\nStar Party -- automatically qualified for the 2004 elections
\nbecause they met the 2 percent electoral threshold in the 1999
\nelections.<\/p>\n
\"The documents of the three parties in 21 provinces have met
\nour screening requirements,\" KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah said
\nhere on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He was accompanied by another KPU member Hamid Awaluddin and
\nseveral KPU officials in charge of party verification.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will hold legislative elections on April 5, 2004,
\nand two-stage presidential elections on July 5 and Sept. 20.<\/p>\n
The three parties, along with five other parties -- the
\nCatholic Party, the Islamic Party, the Pro-Republic Party, the
\nIndonesian Workers Party and the Unitary Republic Indonesia Party
\n-- were initially thought to have failed the KPU administrative
\nscreening.<\/p>\n
The commission was scheduled to announce the verification
\nresults for 29 parties on Monday, the last day for the party
\nscreening. But come announcement time, the KPU said that it
\ndeferred the decision on eight political parties.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the KPU announced that four parties -- the
\nCatholic Party, the Islamic Party, the Pro-Republic Party and the
\nIndonesian Workers Party -- had failed to pass the screening,
\nwhile the Unitary Republic Indonesia Party had passed.<\/p>\n
Mulyana said that during the administrative screening of the
\nfinal eight parties, the KPU had softened its requirements,
\nespecially on the letter of the party office location.<\/p>\n
According to a KPU decree, the letter should be signed by the
\ndistrict head, but the KPU decided to allow the final eight
\nparties to submit letters signed by the village head.<\/p>\n
He also said the screening of the eight parties took longer
\nthan expected.<\/p>\n
Mulyana said that during the factual administration period,
\nKPU members would supervise provincial, regental and municipal
\nKPUs in verifying parties.<\/p>\n
The factual verification will take place until Nov. 20, and
\nall factual screening reports from provincial, regental or
\nmunicipal KPUs must be submitted to the KPU on Nov. 29 at the
\nlatest.<\/p>\n
During the factual screening, provincial and regental KPU
\noffices will conduct a field verification of whether the parties
\nhave met the minimum requirements of establishing offices in 21
\nprovinces and in two-thirds of regencies\/mayoralties in those
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
The KPU also will randomly check 10 percent of the membership
\ncards of parties in regencies and municipalities.<\/p>\n
After the factual screening, the KPU will hold a plenary
\nsession to decide which parties are eligible to contest the 2004
\nelections. The results will be announced on Dec. 2.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/final-three-parties-pass-kpu-screening-1447893297",
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