KPU Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Representatives of major political parties that have passed verification by the General Election Commission (KPU) for the 2014 legislative election say they are ready to join forces with disqualified parties.
Martin Hutabarat, a member of the Great Indonesia Movement Party's (Gerindra) patron board, for example, said that at least 10 parties have proposed forming a coalition with Gerindra.
"Leaders of those parties have called us to show us that they have a similar vision to ours in developing the country" Martin told reporters. "They also convinced us that their large number of supporters could help us in the election"
Martin declined to name the smaller parties, saying that he would take the offers seriously to improve Gerindra's standing. "With a large number of parties coming to us, it shows that we are, without a doubt, one of the most popular parties nowadays," he said.
Meanwhile, representatives of the other eight parties that passed muster with the KPU have also made similar claims.
Golkar deputy secretary-general Nurul Arifin said on Thursday that Golkar was currently in talks with three smaller political parties to form a coalition.
Proving that politics makes strange bedfellows, Nurul said that the parties were, ironically, those that had previously evinced a pronounced animosity to Golkar.
Nurul had a caveat for the smaller parties: "They should not cause problems with other parties who wish to ally with us. If they can agree to this, we will seriously consider their offer," she told reporters.
Senior executives of the Democratic Party and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), meanwhile, also claimed that the parties had their eyes set on forming coalitions with the disqualified parties.
However enthusiastic the KPU-approved parties may be for new alliances, it will be some times before such dreams can be realized, as 15 of the 18 parties that were disqualified by the KPU are said to be preparing lawsuits contesting the commission's decision.
The disqualified parties have accused the KPU of favoring previously qualified parties and of manipulating the verification process.
For example, Sahat Sinaga, the secretary general of the Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), said that the PDS and 14 other disqualified parties have filed a complaint against the KPU with the Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu).
"Bawaslu asked us to complete some more paperwork. We will then file the suit with the PTUN [Jakarta State Administrative Court]," Sahat said. "We will not give up until justice is served.
The PDS leader accused the KPU of failing to perform its job, claiming that during the factual verification process, commission officials failed to make physical inspections of the PDS' regional offices, particularly those in the predominantly Muslim regions, such as Aceh and Muara Enim, South Sumatra.
"We found out that the KPU didn't check on our branches in five districts in Aceh. The provincial KPU in Aceh told us that they did not do it since the [national] KPU didn't send our documents to them. The same thing also happened in Muara Enim," Sahat said.
The PDS and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), and the National Unity Party (PPN), all disqualified by the KPU, are also said to be compiling evidence to support their lawsuits.