Four parties miss deadline, miss out on campaign run

Four parties miss deadline, miss out on campaign run

Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi

The Kendari General Elections Commission (KPUD) has barred four
political parties from campaigning on the grounds that they
failed to register the names of their campaigners to the KPUD
before the March 7 deadline.

The four parties are the Marhaenisme Indonesian National Party
(PNI Marhaenisme), the Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party
(PPNUI), the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and the Indonesian
Unity Party (PSI).

"If they ignore the ban and still campaign, it would be a poll
violation," said the head of the KPUD Kendari campaign task
force, Arafat.

The election campaign period begins on March 11 and ends on
April 1.

Arafat said that before issuing the ban, the commission sent
letters to the leaders of the four parties requesting they send a
list of their campaigners to the KPUD.

"But they failed to send us their lists by the March 7
deadline," said Arafat.

He said the decision to ban the four parties was made during a
plenary meeting at the Kendari KPUD office on March 7.

The head of the PPNUI sounded startled when contacted by The
Jakarta Post about the decision, but was quick to say that the
KPUD was wrong to ban his party.

"Our party listed our campaigner before the deadline," claimed
Abd. Gani Sukur, the leader of the party.

He said he would lodge a complaint with the KPUD if the party
was banned from campaigning.

Arafat said that, according to KPU regulation No. 701, any
political party that had not registered the names of its
campaigners would be barred from campaigning.

"We will surely be consistent with campaign rules. Not a
single party will be allowed to participate in political
campaigns if they have not registered the names of their
campaigners. It would be a violation if it were not heeded," he
asserted.

The legislative election will be held on April 5.