147 parties now registered with Ministry of Justice

JAKARTA (JP): As of Monday, the last day for political parties to register, 147 parties had registered with the Ministry of Justice.

Of these, 116 parties had gained corporate body status while the remaining 31 parties were given until Feb. 24 to complete registration requirements.

Eleven parties had registered with the ministry on Monday, as of 4 p.m.

"We succeeded in getting the notary documents from the notary public this morning," said Lieus Sungkarisma, chairman of the Chinese-Indonesians Reform Party, adding that his party hoped to win 10 seats in the House of Representatives.

The last party to register was the Party of the Pioneering Generation for Indonesia's Independence.

Parties who meet registration requirements will be listed in the State Gazette by Feb. 25, according to committee member Mohammad Zein.

After receiving corporate body status from the Ministry of Justice, parties register with the Team of Eleven, which determines which parties are eligible to contest the June 7 poll.

The team has begun to visit provinces and regencies to investigate the suitability of political parties to participate in the general election. The trips are planned to last until Feb. 26, but may be extended to March 1.

Meanwhile, Antara reported that 19 parties had registered with the Team of Eleven as of Monday, of which 11 were being verified by the team. (01)