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s many as 10 non-legislative parties have agreed to merge into one bigger party in an attempt to pass the recently increased electoral requirements ahead of the 2014 general elections.

The National Union Party (PPN) would be officially inaugurated in June, said Didi Supriyanto, head of the 10 parties’ team tasked with preparing the new party’s establishment. “We just finished consolidating the parties’ branches at regional levels in all 33 provinces,” Didi told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said the party would be registered at the Law and Human Rights Ministry by the end of June.

The ministry has announced that the registration will be closed in mid-August, after which ministry officials will begin verifying the registered parties.

Once the PPN is established, Didi will leave his position as secretary general of the Democratic Renewal Party (PDP), one of the 10 merging parties.

The other nine parties are the Freedom Bull National Party (PNBK), the Regional Unity Party (PPD), the National Sun Party (PMB), the Indonesian Democracy Vanguard Party (PPDI), the Indonesian Democracy Devotion Party (PKDI), the Pioneer Party, the Patriot Party, the Prosperous Indonesia Party (PIS) and the Indonesian Youth Party (PPI).

The PPN would be a nationalist party with the slogan, “the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [Unity in Diversity] and Pancasila are not negotiable!” Didi said. One of the forming parties, the PMB, is a Muslim-based party linked to Muhammadiyah, the nation’s second-largest Islamic organization.

Imam Addaruqutni of the PMB said an Islamic element in the PPN would strengthen the democratic aspect of the new party. “We are confident we can compete with other established parties in 2014,” he said.

The 10 parties were among the 29 political parties that failed to meet the 2.5-percent legislative threshold in the 2009 elections.

Although they failed to send representatives to the House of Representatives, these parties managed to fill councilor seats at regional levels.

After the Law on political parties was passed this year, non-legislative parties had no choice but to merge and form new parties or join legislative parties.

Politicians from small parties considered the law deliberately designed to “kill” smaller parties by setting difficult eligibility requirements. The law, for example, obliges political parties to have offices in all 33 provinces, in 75 percent of the cities and regencies in each province and in 50 percent of the districts in cities and regencies before it can field candidates.

Other parties opting to join bigger parties include the Reform Star Party (PBR), the Freedom Party, the Labor Party, the Indonesian Nahdlatul Ulama United Party (PPNUI), the Marhaenism Indonesian National Party, the Sovereignty Party and the Indonesian Union Party (PSI). They joined the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party.