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KPU must stay impartial in verifying parties: Election watchdog
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In this Oct. 4 file photo, General Elections Commission (KPU) officers stand at the registration desk in the KPU building in Jakarta. The KPU opens registration for political parties to stand in the 2019 legislative election until Oct. 16. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
E
lection watchdog the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) has warned the General Elections Commission (KPU) to show professionalism and act without discrimination in deciding which political parties can stand in the 2019 legislative election.
The KPU has recently announced that registration for the legislative election begins on Tuesday and will remain open until Oct. 16. During the two-week period, political parties must submit numerous papers, including documents that prove parties' membership at the regional level.
The KPU will later run a "factual verification" to determine whether or not a party is eligible to run in the election.
"We do hope the KPU can carry out its work in a professional manner while upholding a principle of independence in line with the prevailing laws," Perludem head Titi Anggraini said. "It is important to treat all parties without discrimination during the verification process."
Perludem has found numerous indications that some KPU offices at the regional level had treated different candidates differently in past regional elections (Pilkada), for example, when they gave certain candidates the chance to to fix their application, but denied others.
Some election observers and newly established small parties, like the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), have raised concerns about the requirements in the newly enacted election law, particularly since the law only requires new parties to undergo the KPU factual verification.
In August, the PSI sought a judicial review of the law in the Constitutional Court, saying that the law discriminated against newly established parties. (ipa)
