Party verification set for May

JAKARTA: Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Wednesday that his ministry would start verifying political parties in May.

The verification process, which will determine the validity of political parties registering for the 2004 general election, will continue until Sept. 31.

The minister expected all political parties to have submitted the required documents before Aug. 31 in order to give the ministry ample time to complete verification in line with the schedule.

Results of the verification will be presented to the General Elections Commission (KPU), which will then determine which parties are eligible to contest the elections.

A total of 237 parties have registered with the ministry, but only 28 of them have submitted complete documents so far, Yusril said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the Golkar Party are among those that have not submitted the required documents. -- JP