PDI-P registers for verification

PDI-P registers for verification

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights on Monday, leaving Golkar as the only major party that has not registered with the ministry.

During the registration process, the party's officials submitted documents and information on, among other things, the total number of their chapters nationwide.

All parties contesting the 2004 general election have to pass a verification process conducted by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Each political party has to have chapters in 50 percent of the provinces, 50 percent of the regencies and municipalities and 25 percent of the districts.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) will conduct its own verification process in which parties are required to have chapters in two-thirds of the 30 provinces and offices in two- thirds of the regencies and municipalities in those provinces. Each chapter has to have at least 1,000 members.

Oka Mahendra, the head of the party verification process at the ministry, said PDI Perjuangan submitted documents saying that it has chapters in 30 provinces, 381 regencies and municipalities and 3,296 districts.

He added that so far 34 political parties had registered at the ministry out of a total 237 political parties to be verified by October 27.--Antara