Less than 20 parties will contest 2004 election: KPU

Less than 20 parties will contest 2004 election: KPU

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta

Less than 20 parties will be eligible to contest the 2004
elections, a member of the General Elections Commission (KPU)
revealed on Friday.

In 1999, 48 parties contested the elections, dubbed the
country's first ever democratic polls. Only one third of them won
seats in the House of Representatives.

Mulyana W. Kusumah, the KPU member in charge of parties' field
verifications, said eight more parties stood a good chance of
contesting the 2004 elections, after passing factual
verification in 18 provinces.

"Those eight parties are close to qualification. They just
have to wait for reports from three other provincial election
commissions to meet the minimum requirement of passing
verification in two thirds of the country's provinces," Mulyana
said as quoted by Antara.

The eight parties will join 12 others, which have secured
berths in the 2004 elections. Six of them -- the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the Golkar Party,
the United Development Party (PPB), the National Awakening Party
(PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the Crescent Star
Party (PBB) -- met the 1999 electoral threshold and automatically
qualify for the elections in line with the election law.

The Reform Star Party, the Prosperous Justice Party, the
Indonesia Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), the Democratic Party,
The Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB), and the
Freedom Bull National Party (PNBK) won their tickets to the
upcoming polls on Tuesday, after surviving the lengthy selection
process.

KPU will announce all parties that pass factual verification
and qualify for the 2004 elections on Sunday.

Mulyana said that after the eligible parties were announced
there would be no changes.

Meanwhile, KPU has issued a circular No. 1168/15/XII/2003
stipulating the deadline for submission of factual verification
reports to the provincial council (DPD).

The circular was delivered to 19 KPUD heads and their city or
regency KPU, including Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, West Sumatera,
Riau, Bengkulu, the Riau Islands, Jakarta, West Java, Central
Java, Yogyakarta, Banten, North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South
Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and West Papua.

The circular ordered KPUDs to submit their factual
verification reports to the Regional Representatives Council
(DPD) candidates on Sunday at the latest.

KPU will determine candidates for DPD and DPRD members in the
2004 elections on Tuesday next week.

The commission will also ask all parties contesting the 2004
elections to refrain from holding election campaigns at
Indonesian embassies overseas. Chairman of the KPU Nazaruddin
Sjamsuddin issued the warning on Friday on the grounds that
monitoring the election campaigns of parties abroad would be
difficult to control.

Indonesia will hold its eighth general election since its
independence on April 5 and the first direct presidential
election on July 5, with its run-off on Sept. 20.