In spite of the General Election Commission's (KPU) decision to disqualify them from the next stage of verification, minor political parties continue efforts to gain eligibility for the 2014 election.
Some of the political parties, including the Labor Party and the Union of Independent People (SRI), said they would file complaints with the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) in the hope that the body would annul the KPU's decision.
"I don't know why my party failed the administrative verification. I believe the Labor Party submitted all of the required documents," Labor Party chairman Sonny Pudjisasono said.
The KPU announced on Sunday that 16 political parties had passed the administrative stage. These 16 parties will now progress to the final screening stage, before being declared eligible to run in the 2014 general elections.
A statement by the KPU in October declared that none of the 34 political parties had met its requirements, which stated they had to submit 17 documents.
The commission gave the parties one week to resubmit the requested documents. It also provided a list of mistakes that needed to be corrected by the political parties.
"We have followed the KPU's instructions [as stated in the list]. Yet, we failed to pass the administrative verification. We demand the KPU to be transparent about the process," Sonny said.
Sonny said that the KPU had promised clarification on its decision and that Bawaslu requires relevant documents to be attached to the complaint. He said he had not yet received the letter, which is crucial for the party's next step.
The Labor Party took part in the 2004 and 2009 legislative elections but failed to get enough votes to pass the 2.5 percent legislative threshold. "But now, we even failed to pass the administrative verification stage. We simply can't accept the fact," said Sonny.
Meanwhile, the SRI party accused the KPU of partisanship in its decision. "We came to the conclusion after learning that the KPU delayed to announce its decision twice," said SRI chairman Damanus Taufan.
The KPU had been scheduled to make the announcement on Monday last week but postponed it until Thursday and actually went public with the result on Sunday evening. "The KPU probably delayed the announcement to give more time to some political parties," Damanus said.
Speculation was rife that established political parties had used the influence of their leaders, who had seats in the government, to interfere with the work of the KPU – as indicated by the fact that all parties with seats in the House of Representatives are in the next stage of verification.
The SRI party executives said that other than filing complaints to the Bawaslu, they would also file a lawsuit to the State Administrative Court (PTUN).
Contacted separately, KPU commissioner Ida Budhiati said that the election commission had strong grounds to disqualify the 16 political parties and had evidence to support its decision.
"They may come to pick up the documents from Thursday because now we are busy with the factual verification process," Ida said. Political analyst Yunarto Wijaya of the Charta Politika said that in spite of the KPU's decision to disqualify them, the minor parties could always make a comeback in future elections.
"Surveys have shown that support for the major political parties is declining and the number of undecided voters is swelling. Small parties could target their votes," he said. (riz)