Parties told to submit bank accounts

Parties told to submit bank accounts

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Political parties eligible for next year's elections must submit
details of their campaign fund bank accounts to the National
Elections Commissions (KPU) not later than seven days after they
have been declared eligible to participate, a KPU member has
said.

KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti also said on Monday that
all political parties would have to submit their annual financial
statements detailing their revenue and expenditure since their
establishment until they were declared legitimate political
parties by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

"All of these reports must be audited by independent auditors
who are not linked to any political parties or vested interests,"
said Ramlan.

He also said that parties, including those not eligible for to
run in the elections, would have to submit financial statements
on their income and expenditure from the moment they were
declared legitimate parties until Dec. 31, 2003.

The KPU is expected to announce on Tuesday the names of the
political parties that have been cleared to contest the 2004
elections.

The country is due to hold legislative elections and its first
ever direct presidential election next year.

As of Monday, at least 21 of the 40 political parties
undergoing factual verification had failed to meet the
requirement of having branch offices in at least two-thirds, or
21, of the country's 30 provinces. KPU members, however,
refrained from saying on Monday from saying that these political
parties would be barred from next year's legislative elections.

However, KPU member Mulyana W. Kusuma, who heads the party
verification team, suggested that next year's elections would be
participated in by less parties than contested the 1999
elections. The 1999 general election was contested by 48 parties.

"Aside from the six parties which passed the electoral
threshold in the 1999 election, maybe about 15 or so others will
be able to meet all the requirements," he said in his office.

Only six parties are assured of places in next year's
elections as they have met the two percent electoral threshold in
the 1999 election. They are the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar, the United Development Party
(PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate
Party (PAN), and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

On Tuesday, the KPU is slated to start naming the political
parties that will be allowed to participate in next year's
election. Since not all provinces have submitted their
verification reports, the KPU will announce the parties eligible
to contest the 2004 elections in stages, between Dec. 2 and Dec.
7.

"We will name those which have passed the electoral threshold,
those which have met the requirements to contest the elections
and those which have failed to do so," Mulyana said.

Factual verification is the final test for political parties
bidding to contest the 2004 elections, after the earlier
administrative screening conducted by the KPU last month.

During factual verification process, the KPU determines the
number of provincial chapters to be examined based on the
documentation the party in question has submitted to the
commission.

Law No. 12/2003 on general elections states that a political
party can contest elections if its existence is recognized by the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and it has a local executive
board in at least two-thirds of the country's 30 provinces.