Parties told to meet tough terms

Parties told to meet tough terms

Berni K. Moestafa and Debbie A. Lubies, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Several new political parties may have to drop their bid to
contest in the 2004 general election as the government now
requires them to reapply under tougher registration criteria with
the new law on political party about to take effect.

"If the parties don't meet the new criteria we'll drop them,"
said R. H. Tjapah, spokesman at the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights on Friday.

So far 225 political parties are registered with the ministry
and more are likely to follow. But all of them, Tjapah said, had
applied based on the 1999 law on political parties.

"We'll tell them to renew their registration under the new
law, as we must follow changes in the regulation," he said.

The House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed the new law on
political parties last month. President Megawati Soekarnoputri
has yet to sign it into law, but Tjapah said it would become
effective by the end of this month.

Under the old law, still in effect, anyone wishing to form a
party needs to rally 50 members and register the would-be party
at a notary's office.

The justice ministry's office then verifies that the parties
have fulfilled the requirements and issues its approval.

The new law does not require would-be parties to have 50
members but requires them to have chapters across the country
first before applying. Would-be parties must set up branch
offices in at least half of Indonesia's 31 provinces where they
must have branches in at least half of the districts in every
regency or mayoralty.

It also requires that a party has a fixed office that does not
change address, as might be the case with a party whose founders
are not serious.

Tjapah said that parties had until the registration cut-off
date to adjust to the new criteria. But the date remains
undecided as it will depend on what month the 2004 general
election is held in.

"We will have to see how much time KPU needs to prepare for
the election," he said referring to the General Elections
Commission which is tasked with organizing the ballot.

Verifying whether parties had met the requirements would also
require time, and Tjapah added that his office did not have the
manpower to do so.

"We will probably work with other government institutions to
do the field work," he explained but said that the registration
itself may start as soon as January 2003.

Labor activist Muchtar Pakpahan of the Social Democrat Labor
Party said his party was ready to meet the tighter registration
criteria.

"We have chapters down to district levels in 27 provinces," he
told The Jakarta Post, adding he expected his party to refile its
application immediately once the justice ministry was ready.

On the party's chances in the 2004 election, he said he was
sure of securing at least 3 percent of the entire vote. This
might be enough to form a faction at the House.

Political analysts have said the more stringent requirement
would almost certainly force several political newcomers to
cancel or postpone their bids to join the general elections.

Several analysts predicted that by the time the 2004 election
starts, only 10 political parties would be eligible to contest in
it.

Forty-eight parties participated in the 1999 general election.
Of them, 22 are represented at the House, with many however
occupying one seat only and others having had to merge to form a
faction.

Also the new registration criteria applies only for the
official recognition of a party. To contest in an election,
parties will also have to pass the criteria set forth under the
general election law. The election bill is being discussed at the
House.

According to the draft, a party must have branches in at least
two-thirds of all the provinces, and in two-thirds of the number
of regencies or cities in one province.

In each of their branches, election participants must also
have at least 1,000 members.