Some 170 parties register for election

NUSA DUA, Bali: Around 170 political parties have so far registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to contest the 2004 general election.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said here on Wednesday that most of the parties registered for the last election in 1999 were on the list.

"We have accepted all parties which complied with the procedures. A group of 50 people can go to a notary public to establish a party, and we will just check the legal documents before formally recognizing their existence in the state gazette," Yusril said.

The selection of parties eligible to contest the 2004 election would be made after the amendment of Law No. 2/1999 on political parties, which was currently underway in the House of Representatives.

The bill being discussed increases the threshold for a political party to 10 percent of the vote, which would consequently allow only the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar Party, United Development Party (PPP), National Awakening Party (PKB) and National Mandate Party (PAN) to automatically qualify for the 2004 election. --JP