T

he public may see four political newcomers enter the upcoming legislative election, if these new lesser-known parties manage to pass the factual verification, known as the strictest phase of the selection process, to compete in the 2019 legislative election.

The four new players — the Berkarya Party, the Garuda Party, the United Indonesia Party (Perindo) and the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) — are among 14 parties declared to have submitted the adequate documents as part of the ongoing administrative review by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The four new parties along with the 10 other political parties, which currently control seats in the House of Representatives, will now undergo an administrative review to determine whether or not they can enter the factual verification stage early next year.

The patron of Berkarya is Tommy Soeharto, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, Indonesia’s longest serving ruler and leader of the authoritarian New Order regime.

Back in 2016 when the party was established, Berkarya was reportedly not well received by the Golkar Party, the country’s oldest political party and main supporter of president Soeharto. Berkarya’s decision to use the banyan tree as its symbol, the same symbol used by Golkar, was seen as an attempt to copy the latter’s values and vision.

Berkarya chairwoman Neneng A. Tutty said that, besides Tommy, other notable figures within the party included former coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno and former Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh.

Neneng said Soeharto had left behind a legacy of “social economy” for Indonesia after he stepped down from the presidency, and that Tommy wanted to continue to build the country’s economy based on that legacy.

“The party also wants to help strengthen the cultural and religious aspects of society,” Neneng said.

While Berkarya is in the hands of people with records in politics and the bureaucracy, the little-known newcomer Garuda, meanwhile, has said it offered an image of fresh faces running a new party that aimed to woo young and millennial voters.

“We in Garuda are a group of young people who dream of building Indonesia into a much better [nation],” Garuda chairman Ahmad Ridha Sabana said recently.

However, despite its claims, little is known about Garuda, other than that it includes Abdullah Mansuri, the chairman of the Indonesian Association of Traditional Market Traders (IKAPPI), as its secretary general and Ahmad, a former president director of Indonesia Education Television (TPI).

Another newcomer is PSI, which aims to bring young people into politics. Many of its members are relatively young and familiar in the entertainment industry, for instance, the vocalist of pop band Nidji, Giring Ganesha, who has decided to run in the legislative contest.

Founded after the 2014 presidential election and led by former journalist and television presenter Grace Natalie, PSI offers a platform based on pluralism and diversity.

Perindo, on the other hand, is led by media mogul-cum-politician Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who is not a new player in politics.

Before becoming a political party, Perindo was a mass organization founded by Hary following his departure from the NasDem Party over a disagreement with party founder Surya Paloh, who went on to take over the party leadership in 2013.

Hary, who controls the Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) group, once joined the Hanura Party and was Wiranto’s running mate in the 2014 presidential election.

Election watchdog Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) executive director Titi Anggraini said the new parties had the same opportunities as the long-established parties but that it would not be easy for these newcomers to compete with parties currently in power.