Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Law and Human Rights Ministry has begun to verify 14 new political parties that have registered for the 2014 elections, but it is estimated that only three of them will be deemed eligible to contest the elections.

The new Political Parties Law has made it difficult for people to establish a party and run at the polls.

The law stipulates that a party can stand in elections if it has 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.

With the bar set that high, only a few have the resources needed to fulfil the costly requirements to compete with the country's political stalwarts.

Two parties that claimed to have what was needed to pass the verification process were the National Republic Party (Nasrep) and the National Democrat (Nasdem) Party.

Unlike the so-called minnow parties that failed in the 2009 elections and had headquarters that were more like abandoned shops, Nasrep and Nasdem have big offices with LCD TVs showing their logos and pictures of their leaders.

The office of Nasrep's Jakarta chapter on Jl. Poltangan Raya, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, is a big two-floor house in a small housing complex that has been repainted orange, the party's color.

It is relatively large for a political party's provincial office, even compared to the office of the Golkar Party's Jakarta chapter.

Outside the building were seen dozens of floral arrangements sent by companies to congratulate the chapter office on its launch.

Entering the office's main gate, visitors were greeted by a LCD TV in a tidy guest room with a giant banner that covered almost the whole back wall of the room.

A considerable part of the orange banner was filled with the face of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the son of late president Soeharto, which appeared much bigger than the party's logo on the banner.

Tommy – who owns the Humpuss Group conglomerate that has interests in at least 90 companies, ranging from oil and gas, telecommunications, construction and shipping – is one of the party's co-founders and is the party's chief patron.

The Asset Tracking Working Group on Wednesday said that Tommy lost a judicial review against the Guernsey Financial Intelligence Service (FIS), which froze $36 million (US$51.97 million) Tommy has at the Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas.

The funds have been caught in a dispute in the Guernsey court because the Indonesian government alleges the funds were amassed through corruption. But critics contend that the disputed money was not a significant part of Tommy's total assets.

Nasrep chairman Jus Usman Sumanegara confirmed Tommy's money had helped to establish the party, refusing to discuss specific amounts. "Of course we needed money to set up this party, given the difficult requirements set forth by the law," Jus told The Jakarta Post recently.

"We have met all legal requirements but we want more. Our target is to have branches at all cities and regencies," Jus, the former secretary-general of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said.

For Nasrep, Tommy is not merely a money generator. The party believes that by bringing Tommy on board it will draw to the party those who miss "the political and economic stability during the Soeharto era".

Jus cited an Indo Barometer survey in May that said that more than a third of respondents chose Soeharto as their favorite president.

The Nasdem Party, meanwhile, has admitted it still relied on Surya Paloh's funds and media network.

Surya, a media mogul, co-founded the National Democrat mass-organization, which is also abbreviated as Nasdem. Despite this, and similar logos, the organization's top officials have repeatedly denied they were linked with the party.

The party and the organization share the same office complex in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, which used to be the headquarters of Surya's Media Indonesia daily newspaper.

The two parties are among 14 new political parties which have registered to run in the 2014 election. The Law and Human Rights Ministry will verify the parties to ensure that they fulfill requirements.