Jakarta – Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) yesterday released lists of legislative candidates from 24 electoral contestants.

"Even though we are not required to publicize the lists of legislative candidates, the public is entitled to know them," chairman of the KPU's working committee for scrutinizing legislative candidates, Anas Urbaningrum, said yesterday.

Twenty-four electoral contestants submitted their lists of legislative candidates to the KPU on December 29 last year.

He said although the lists had been announced, there was still the possibility that a number of legislative candidates in the lists would have their ranking changed in the definitive lists to be made public on January 27.

The commission gave electoral contestants until 4.00 p.m. yesterday to complete the requirements of their legislative candidates, thereby causing the lists to change, he said.

The change would likely concern the replacement of unqualified candidates with qualified ones, and the addition of female candidates in the lists, he said.

He said the commission would not extend the deadline for the electoral contestants to complete the requirements of their legislative candidates because under the elections law they only had a maximum of 14 days starting on January 6 to complete the requirements.

He said the commission could not announce the number of qualified legislative candidates until January 26 when it had completed the scrutiny of legislative candidates.

"One thing is clear, three legislative candidates from the Social Democratic Labor Party have been disqualified because they failed to meet the age requirements," he said.

He said the commission had so far not found any legislative candidate with a bogus diploma.

"If any of them is found to have falsified his or her diploma, he/she certainly does not meet the requirements and will be disqualified accordingly," he said.

He also said none of the 24 electoral contestants had announced its presidential and vice presidential candidates.

"Under Law No.23/2003 on Presidential Election, a political party or a coalition of political parties had the chance to announce its presidential and vice presidential candidates before the official schedule, namely after the legislative election on April 5, 2004," he said.