Ezra Sihite, Rizky Amelia &SP/Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy
Officers sort out ballots in Jakarta in July
2012. The General Elections Commission will reveal which parties are
eligible for the 2012 race on Monday. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)
Just 10 political parties are expected to
have passed the verification process to contest the 2014 elections when
polling officials make their announcement today, a watchdog says.
Jeirry Sumampouw, coordinator of the Indonesian Voters Committee (Tepi), said at a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday that based on his group’s observations and reports from regional general elections commissions (KPUDs) in all 33 provinces, only the nine parties with seats at the House of Representatives and one newcomer would make the list.
“Only 10 parties will go through. They are the nine parties at the House and one new party, NasDem,” Jeirry said, referring to the National Democratic Party.
The nine House parties include the ruling Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
There are also four Islamic-based parties in the mix: the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
The final two parties at the House are the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura).
Jeirry said that none of the 24 other parties undergoing verification were expected to pass because they lacked sufficient representation in some provinces.
To be allowed to stand candidates in the legislative election next year, a party must have at least 1,000 registered members in each district and municipality of every province nationwide.
Not meeting this condition in even a single province will nullify the party’s bid to contest the election.
Another requirement, but one on which parties are given some leeway depending on circumstances, is for 30 percent female representation.
Jeirry said Tepi’s prediction was based on initial reports received from the various KPUDs nationwide.
“We’ve seen the reports filed by each provincial polling commission, and although they’re preliminary reports, they provide a good indication of how many parties are expected to pass the verification,” he said.
The national General Elections Commission (KPU) is scheduled to make an announcement today of the parties that will be eligible to run in 2014, based on the reports from each provincial KPUD.
Jeirry said the KPU would have to brace for a torrent of legal challenges to its decision from the 24 parties that were not expected to pass.
“The chance of major challenges is very high, considering that out of 34 parties only 10 look set to pass,” he said.
He added that although the challenges would be heated and contentious, he believed the KPU was expected to convincingly justify its decision.
He said that in many cases, the parties themselves were to blame for not being serious about garnering the necessary support to meet the requirements of the verification process.
One of the parties that Tepi expects to fall by the wayside is the Independent People’s Union (SRI), a minor party that has made a name for itself with its plan to field former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as a presidential candidate.
Mulyani, who is now a managing director at the World Bank and is in no way affiliated with the party, has acknowledged its intention but has not said whether she will run for president.
The SRI was one of the handful of parties that was confirmed by the Jakarta KPUD last week to have passed the verification process in the capital, but its prospects in other provinces remain unknown.
Chairman Damianus Taufan said on Saturday that the party was prepared to mount a legal challenge against the KPU if it was not included on the list of eligible parties in today’s announcement.
“We will avail ourselves of all options. We will take the issue to court, to the State Administrative Court and to Bawaslu,” he said, referring to the Elections Supervisory Board. “We will do everything we can to straighten out what the KPU has twisted.”
He argued that it was unfair to disqualify a party for not meeting the membership criteria, saying that some of the parties currently at the House would not make the grade if the KPU implemented its checks diligently.
The SRI has been at odds with the polling commission since last year, when the KPU disqualified it along with 17 other minor parties after the initial phase of the verification process.
In November, the Election Organizers Ethics Council (DKPP) overturned the decision, effectively giving the parties another stab at qualifying.
Rocky Gerung, SRI’s head of political affairs, accused the KPU of overemphasizing the membership criteria to trim down the list of parties eligible for the 2014 election.
He claimed that hinging a party’s entire political future on meeting a single criteria in all provinces was tantamount to “killing the party.”
“The fact is that all this fuss [about meeting the quota] in the regions is caused by the KPU itself. If you link that to the desire to streamline the number of parties, it’s a fit,” he said.
Masykurudin Hafidz, the manager for the People’s Voter Education Network (JPPR), said he hoped that the KPU would be more formal about its announcement on Monday than in previous years.
He pointed out that prior to the previous election in 2009, the KPU only issued a handout listing the parties that had passed the verification and those that had failed, with no explanations or comments given.
“This time around, I hope they do things more formally and seriously, including by giving an explanation for why the parties that failed did not go through, with supporting data if necessary from the regions in which they fell short of the requirements,” Masykurudin said. “On the issue of membership numbers, the KPU needs to make it clear in which regions the parties came up short as well as which regions they had a strong base.”
The final figure of 10 parties contesting next year’s election, if confirmed by the KPU today, will mark a significant reduction from previous elections.
In the 2009 election, 38 parties competed, up from 24 in 2004. During the 1999 election, a total of 48 parties were eligible to run.
Jeirry Sumampouw, coordinator of the Indonesian Voters Committee (Tepi), said at a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday that based on his group’s observations and reports from regional general elections commissions (KPUDs) in all 33 provinces, only the nine parties with seats at the House of Representatives and one newcomer would make the list.
“Only 10 parties will go through. They are the nine parties at the House and one new party, NasDem,” Jeirry said, referring to the National Democratic Party.
The nine House parties include the ruling Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
There are also four Islamic-based parties in the mix: the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
The final two parties at the House are the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura).
Jeirry said that none of the 24 other parties undergoing verification were expected to pass because they lacked sufficient representation in some provinces.
To be allowed to stand candidates in the legislative election next year, a party must have at least 1,000 registered members in each district and municipality of every province nationwide.
Not meeting this condition in even a single province will nullify the party’s bid to contest the election.
Another requirement, but one on which parties are given some leeway depending on circumstances, is for 30 percent female representation.
Jeirry said Tepi’s prediction was based on initial reports received from the various KPUDs nationwide.
“We’ve seen the reports filed by each provincial polling commission, and although they’re preliminary reports, they provide a good indication of how many parties are expected to pass the verification,” he said.
The national General Elections Commission (KPU) is scheduled to make an announcement today of the parties that will be eligible to run in 2014, based on the reports from each provincial KPUD.
Jeirry said the KPU would have to brace for a torrent of legal challenges to its decision from the 24 parties that were not expected to pass.
“The chance of major challenges is very high, considering that out of 34 parties only 10 look set to pass,” he said.
He added that although the challenges would be heated and contentious, he believed the KPU was expected to convincingly justify its decision.
He said that in many cases, the parties themselves were to blame for not being serious about garnering the necessary support to meet the requirements of the verification process.
One of the parties that Tepi expects to fall by the wayside is the Independent People’s Union (SRI), a minor party that has made a name for itself with its plan to field former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as a presidential candidate.
Mulyani, who is now a managing director at the World Bank and is in no way affiliated with the party, has acknowledged its intention but has not said whether she will run for president.
The SRI was one of the handful of parties that was confirmed by the Jakarta KPUD last week to have passed the verification process in the capital, but its prospects in other provinces remain unknown.
Chairman Damianus Taufan said on Saturday that the party was prepared to mount a legal challenge against the KPU if it was not included on the list of eligible parties in today’s announcement.
“We will avail ourselves of all options. We will take the issue to court, to the State Administrative Court and to Bawaslu,” he said, referring to the Elections Supervisory Board. “We will do everything we can to straighten out what the KPU has twisted.”
He argued that it was unfair to disqualify a party for not meeting the membership criteria, saying that some of the parties currently at the House would not make the grade if the KPU implemented its checks diligently.
The SRI has been at odds with the polling commission since last year, when the KPU disqualified it along with 17 other minor parties after the initial phase of the verification process.
In November, the Election Organizers Ethics Council (DKPP) overturned the decision, effectively giving the parties another stab at qualifying.
Rocky Gerung, SRI’s head of political affairs, accused the KPU of overemphasizing the membership criteria to trim down the list of parties eligible for the 2014 election.
He claimed that hinging a party’s entire political future on meeting a single criteria in all provinces was tantamount to “killing the party.”
“The fact is that all this fuss [about meeting the quota] in the regions is caused by the KPU itself. If you link that to the desire to streamline the number of parties, it’s a fit,” he said.
Masykurudin Hafidz, the manager for the People’s Voter Education Network (JPPR), said he hoped that the KPU would be more formal about its announcement on Monday than in previous years.
He pointed out that prior to the previous election in 2009, the KPU only issued a handout listing the parties that had passed the verification and those that had failed, with no explanations or comments given.
“This time around, I hope they do things more formally and seriously, including by giving an explanation for why the parties that failed did not go through, with supporting data if necessary from the regions in which they fell short of the requirements,” Masykurudin said. “On the issue of membership numbers, the KPU needs to make it clear in which regions the parties came up short as well as which regions they had a strong base.”
The final figure of 10 parties contesting next year’s election, if confirmed by the KPU today, will mark a significant reduction from previous elections.
In the 2009 election, 38 parties competed, up from 24 in 2004. During the 1999 election, a total of 48 parties were eligible to run.
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