Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Six minor political parties failed to show up at the General Elections Commission (KPU) office on Saturday, the final day to pick up registration forms.

"Only 69 political parties have come to take registration forms. The KPU will not extend the deadline as we have been open for a week," Deden Supriadi, a staff member at the KPU told reporters Saturday. He said three of the six parties that did not turn up included the Patriot Party, the Moon and Star Party and Marhaenism Nationalist Party (PNI Marhaenism)

The parties with no registration forms can not continue with the verification process to determine the eligibility of candidates for the 2009 elections.

The Center for Electoral Reform said the parties that did not take forms were not serious about contesting the elections. "If they are serious in taking part, a week is enough time to for them to pick up a form. The KPU must close its doors," he told The Jakarta Post.

Data from the KPU shows seven political parties that took registration forms have double leadership due to internal rifts.

PNI Marhaenism picked up three registration forms for different leaders while the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Prosperous Peace Party, the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party and Pro-Republic party took two forms each.

The KPU is slated to hold a meeting to decide which of the troubled parties are eligible to continue in the registration process.

According to the KPU, parties are required to return the registration forms before May 14. The KPU will then need three months to verify the parties before announcing eligible candidates on July 5 at the latest. It will then decide whether the parties meet the requirements set in the 2008 political parties law.

The law requires each party to have at least 50 members with chapters in at least 60 percent of the country's 33 provinces and branches in half of the 500 regencies. The law also obliges parties to allocate 30 percent of their central board executive seats to women.

However, parties which currently hold seats at the House of Representative will automatically be eligible to contest in the elections without verification. There are 16 parties with seats at the House, including ruling Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and PKB.

The country is set to hold legislative elections to elect members of the House, legislative councils in the provincial and municipal levels and the Regional Representatives Council on April 5, 2009.