An alliance of at least nine political parties in East Java, who failed to win seats in the House of Representatives, have demanded that eligible voters be allowed to show their identity cards to be able to vote in next month's presid ential election.

They urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to issue a government regulation in lieu of a law (perppu) on this issue, Antara state news agency reported Sunday.

"The presidential election is in a month, but the final list of voters only sees an increase of five million people, from 171 million to 176 million. Therefore, there should be perppu to encourage eligible voters to exercise their political rights," Syafruddin Budiman, secretary of East Java's Nation Sun Party (PMB), told Antara in Surabaya, East Java.

He said the Alliance for Perppu on Identity Cards for Presidential Election also includes the Loving Party for Indonesian Democracy (PKDI), PMB and other small parties such the Free Party and the Labor Party.

"If there are no *special regulations* to accommodate the voting rights of eligible voters, we will support Komnas HAM *the National Commission on Human Rights* as the government would be violating human rights by curbing the people's chances to determine their future leaders," said Syafruddin, who was accompanied by East Java's PKDI executive Adinata.

Syafruddin said identify cards should not be a "primary requirement".

But the government, he added, must also allow eligible voters, who were not registered in the final lists, to cast their ballots during the July 8 presidential election, using their identity cards.

"Should this be ignored, as in the April legislative elections, many eligible voters will be denied their political right to vote because they did not receive voting cards for various technical reasons."

The issue of identity cards for the upcoming presidential election was similarly raised by religious leaders who were concerned about the fact that millions of people were unable to vote just because they were not included in the final lists.

Scores of figures from different religions held a meeting in Jakarta last week, urging the General Election Commission (KPU) and the government to issue a regulation to allow identity cards to be used for voting in the presidential election.

The alliance of nine parties in East Java also urged the President to issue a warning for ministers, governor, regents and mayors as well as lower state officials who sided with certain political groups in the presidential election.

They should receive administrative sanctions from the central government, the alliance said.

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