Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Four new political parties have announced they would join the 2014 elections, claiming they had every reason to be optimistic about meeting stricter electoral requirements and competing with bigger, more established parties.
As of this month, four new political parties – the Nasdem Party, the National Republic Party (Nasrep), the National Union Party (PPN) and the Indonesia Nation Sovereignty Party (PKBI) – have registered with the Law and Human Rights Ministry to qualify to run in the 2014 general elections.
Under the 2011 Political Parties Law, all parties, including those with seats in the House of Representatives, must register with the ministry by the second week of August at the latest.
Analysts said the law, which required parties to have branch offices in all 33 provinces, 75 percent of the cities and regencies in each province and 50 percent of the districts in each city and regency in order to join elections, was too high a requirement for new parties. However, the new parties told The Jakarta Post that this was not their main concern.
"As of today, we have met all the legal requirements," Yus Usman Kusumaningrat, a cofounders of the Nasrep Party, said.
"We already established branches in all provinces. We are now finalizing some branches at the city and regency levels to meet our target, which is 100 percent of cities and regencies," Yus Usman, the former secretary-general of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said.
Nasrep was cofounded by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the son of former strongman Soeharto, who was ousted in 1998. The party has not announced its structural organization, pending an official declaration later this month.
Yus claimed that by bringing Tommy on board he wished to draw to the party those who missed out on "the political and economic stability during the Soeharto era".
Didi Supriyanto of the PPN said a series of porn and graft scandals involving politicians from the major parties at the House was one of the reasons why smaller parties were confident of success in the polls. "The House has lost its dignity due to recent scandals and corruption cases," he said.
The PPN was formed by 10 small parties that failed to meet electoral threshold requirements in the 2009 general elections. Didi, the former secretary-general of the Democratic Renewal Party (PDP), one of the PPN's forming parties, claimed the party had established regional branches as stipulated by law.
Zanuba Arifah Chafsoh, better known as Yenny Wahid, the founder of the PKBI, declined to comment about her election strategy. "Everything will be revealed at the declaration ceremony on May 20," she said.
Yenny is the daughter of late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid. The PKBI was established following Yenny's split from the National Awakening Party (PKB), one of the nine parties in the House. Yenny claimed many former PKB supporters who admired her father, backed her new party.
Nasdem is affiliated with the National Democrats, a mass organization founded by media mogul and former Golkar Party patron Surya Paloh. The organization's secretary-general, Syamsul Muarif, is also a former Golkar politician. The organization has also courted politicians from other parties but most have not confirmed whether they would join the Nasdem Party.
Nasdem Party secretary-general Achmad Rofiq said the party's vision and mission would be in harmony with the National Democrat slogan of "Indonesia's Restoration".
"This party was formed in response to the aspirations of many of the organization's supporters, who wanted us to enter the political arena," he said.