Small parties demand poll delay

Small parties demand poll delay

JAMBI, Jambi: Following a recent legal revision allowing small
parties to nominate candidates for regional elections, several
parties in Jambi asked the local General Elections Commission
(KPUD) to delay the elections.

The parties are seeking a delay to give them time to prepare
for the elections, said the spokesman of the Prosperous Justice
Party in Jambi, Syarifuddin Dwi Aprianto.

However, a member of the Jambi KPUD, Abdul Rasyid, said the
elections could not be delayed because the law on regional
autonomy demanded the Jambi governor be inaugurated in June.

Prior to the legal revision, only parties that had seats in
regional councils were allowed to nominate candidates for
regional elections. However, the Constitutional Court recently
ruled that parties without seats in regional councils could
nominate candidates if they formed a coalition of parties that
won at least 15 percent of the total votes in the last general
election. -- JP