Denpasar – The number of political parties running candidates in the 2009 general election should be slashed so as not to confuse voters, a politician said Sunday.

"Less political parties would also make the Indonesian political system more practical and less costly," said Pramono Anung, secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Indonesia's second-largest party.

Under the Soeharto regime, which fell in 1998, Indonesia had only three political parties. The number swelled to 48 in the 1999 elections and dropped to 24 in 2004. It is expected to increase again in the 2009 elections, as more than a dozen new parties have registered with the government.

The government has increased the electoral threshold every five years in an effort to tighten requirements for parties to qualify for elections. "We hope that no more than 12 political parties will contest the 2009 elections," Pramono said as quoted by Antara.