Democratic Party denies claims of jumping the gun

JAKARTA: The Democratic Party has denied accusations it violated election regulations by kicking off its campaigning early.

The party, the clear winner of April's legislative elections and main supporter of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election bid, held a gathering last Saturday at the Jakarta Fair.

"The gathering was aimed at consolidating all the parties involved in the coalition with the Democratic Party," Lukman Hakim, secretary-general of coalition partner the United Development Party (PPP) and a member of the Democratic Party's campaign team, said Tuesday.

"The gathering was not open to the public, therefore it could not be classified as a campaign event."

The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) recently published a report on the possible campaign regulation violation by the Democratic Party because of the event at the Jakarta Fair.

The regulation stipulates campaigning can only begin as of June 2, while rallies can only start from June 10. -JP