Hasrul, Kendari – The Kendari General Elections Commission (KPUD) has barred four political parties from campaigning on the grounds that they failed to register the names of their campaigners to the KPUD before the March 7 deadline. The four parties are the Marhaenisme Indonesian National Party (PNI Marhaenisme), the Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party (PPNUI), the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and the Indonesian Unity Party (PSI).

"If they ignore the ban and still campaign, it would be a poll violation," said the head of the KPUD Kendari campaign task force, Arafat. The election campaign period begins on March 11 and ends on April 1.

Arafat said that before issuing the ban, the commission sent letters to the leaders of the four parties requesting they send a list of their campaigners to the KPUD. "But they failed to send us their lists by the March 7 deadline," said Arafat.

He said the decision to ban the four parties was made during a plenary meeting at the Kendari KPUD office on March 7.

The head of the PPNUI sounded startled when contacted by The Jakarta Post about the decision, but was quick to say that the KPUD was wrong to ban his party. "Our party listed our campaigner before the deadline," claimed Abd. Gani Sukur, the leader of the party. He said he would lodge a complaint with the KPUD if the party was banned from campaigning.

Arafat said that, according to KPU regulation No. 701, any political party that had not registered the names of its campaigners would be barred from campaigning.

"We will surely be consistent with campaign rules. Not a single party will be allowed to participate in political campaigns if they have not registered the names of their campaigners. It would be a violation if it were not heeded," he asserted. The legislative election will be held on April 5.