“Not only the institution, but the members as well,” chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soe-karnoputri, said as quoted by kompas.com.

“The law states clearly that KPU should be neutral.”

If anyone wanted to be a political party member, they have to leave the commission, she said after opening a walk in commemoration of Pancasila Day at Bung Karno sports complex in Jakarta on Sunday.

At the event, Megawati proposed dedicating June to Sukarno. Sukarno, Megawati’s father, was one of the country’s founding fathers and the first president of Indonesia.

Megawati said three important events related to Sukarno fell in June. It was on the first of that month that the first president raised the concept of Pancasila to the Indonesian Independence Preparation Investigative Assembly (BPUPKI) session. The other dates are Sukarno’s birthday, June 6, and the day he died, June 21, 1970.

Megawati said the event aimed to revive the concept of Pancasila among Indonesians.

“We see that Pancasila has lost its ‘echo’ now,” she said. “It seems that people starting to forget the meaning of Pancasila,” she added.

She also declared the PDI-P had declared June as Bung Karno month.

“We are trying to promote Pancasila again so that it can be incorporated as the philosophy and foundation for Indonesia,” she said.

The walk, which started and ended at the Bung Karno sporting complex, was also attended by the party’s central executive board, House of Representatives legislators and thousands of members from Jakarta.

The walk was marred when 43 participants were injured by a car, which ran into the crowd.

The driver reportedly lost control of the car when he was overcome by an epileptic seizure. (map)

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