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nfighting within the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) has put both parties in limbo as the General Elections Commission (KPU) requires a final and binding ruling regarding leadership for participation in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections.

While other political parties have started preparing for the elections, Golkar and PPP are struggling to settle months-long battles over the parties'€™ chairmanship, which might put them behind other parties as both are still awaiting court rulings on their legitimate leaders.

In its draft regulation on regional elections, the KPU has banned political parties that have yet to settle internal rifts from registering candidates to run in elections, obliging them to provide an inkracht, a final and binding court ruling, to take part in an election.

KPU commissioner Ida Budhiati cited such a requirement as an effort to treat fighting factions, as well as their supports, in a fair manner.

'€œThe KPU cannot let them register unless they agree on their leaderships, which is announced to the court as well as the law and human rights minister,'€ Ida said recently.

'€œIf they agree to reconcile, they can end the legal battle and issue an agreement pact,'€ she added.

The KPU formally presented its draft regulation to lawmakers from House of Representatives Commission II, which is in charge of the matter, in a meeting last week. The draft is expected to be finalized on Monday.

In addition to such a requirement, the draft also stipulates that, among other things, political parties or coalitions of political parties were required to have secured at least 20 percent of seats on a regional legislative council (DPRD) or 25 percent of the vote in the 2014 legislative election to nominate candidates.

The majority of members on Commission II, which oversees governance, regional autonomy, state apparatus and agrarian affairs, have given the KPU'€™s proposal a nod, but representatives from the fighting factions within Golkar and PPP disagree with it.

Golkar'€™s Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa from the Agung Laksono camp suggests the KPU instead use the latest ruling over the party'€™s chairmanship, a decree issued by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly that validated Agung as Golkar'€™s legitimate chairman instead of rival Aburizal Bakrie.

'€œThe KPU must not interfere in the conflict. It must obey the law. The law says that political parties participating in the elections are those that are acknowledged by the law and human rights minister,'€ Agun said.

Supporters of PPP'€™s Muhammad '€œRomy'€ Romahurmuziy concurred, defending the Romy camp'€™s rights to participate in the elections instead of his rival'€™s, Djan Faridz.

Like Agung, Romy too has pocketed a decree from Yasonna legitimizing his leadership, although the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) later revoked Yasonna'€™s decree, granting the party'€™s leadership to Djan.