The Political Party Verification

Law on General Election of 2019 on Article 173 Section (1) said:
"The arrangement of the political parties that has passed the verification process and wishing to join the General Election  to be done by the Central Commission for the General Election," Based on this article all new political parties have to be verified and should have the qualification of "fine" before joining the  General Election in 2019. The verification process done by the  Central Commission for the General Election.

While Article 173 Section (3) said, "Political Party that has been verified and to pass the respective verification and to have the qualification of "fine"  will not be repeated to follow its verification process. "Based on this article all Political Parties that have been joining the General Election in 2014 are free from verifying process (and may directly register to join the General Election in 2019). The Political Party Verification is the evaluation on the qualification of the Political Party actual condition of its organization.
 
The substances of the checking process are comprising of all its legal document on the foundation of the respective Political Party, its Organization Structure, political infrastructure, such as its Office, its mobile capability, its communication system and its operational capability structure namely its leadership structure and the most important is the leadership personnel.

The General Commission of the General Election should be convinced that the respective political party is really qualified and being able to join the General Election. The political party that does not pass the required qualification standard should not be allowed joining the General Election. This procedure to have been applied in the General Election of 2014 and it will be applied to the new political parties which want to join the General Election of 2019.

However for the existing Political Parties that had joined the General Election in 2014 they could register directly to join the General Election in 2019 using the result of the Political Verification of 2014.

The Substances to be evaluated in the Political Party verification process are among others:
a. The Legal document on the foundation of the respective Political Party published by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, completed with its document on Party Constitution and its organization structure that is indicating its jobs structure .

b. The subject concerning the result of the Organization Verification are the various record on various matters as bellow:
1). Names of the full members of the Central Party Leaders Council (100 %).
2). The names of the members of the Regional/Province Party Leader Councils (100 %).
3). The Names of all The District Party Leaders Councils
( minimum 75%).
4). The Names of the the Sub District Party Leader Council (min 50 %).

c. The Party Infra Structure and capability.
          1). The  Central Party  Headquarters
          2). The  Address of the Regional Party Offices
          3). The  Address of the District Party Offices
          4). The Address of the Sub District Party Office.
          5). Transportation to support the mobile Party  Capability.
  6). Communication System supporting the command and control among Party Organs.

d. The Party Agenda on General Election, comprising its campaign program and the schedule concerns (nationally and regionally),  the place, date, participants.

During the period of the New Order Era there were only Tree Political Parties within almost 30 years (Golkar, PDI and PPP).  Since the Reform Era the various Political Parties had been established, but only ten political parties were allowed to join the General Electionn in 2014, namely Golkar Party, Nasdem Party, Hanura Party, PAN, PKB. PPP, Democratic Party, Gerindra Party, PKS and  PKPI. PKPI joined the General Election in 2014 but failed to get any single seat in the House of Representative.

In facing the General Election in 2019 likely there are a number of new Political Parties wich are wishing to join it, such as The Indonesian Unity Party (Perindo) and The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI). Perindo (The Indonesian Unity Party) under Harry Tanoe's leadership is one of the most active new Political Party which wants to join the General Election in 2019. PSI under the leadership of Grace Natalie just appeared recently. Accordingly The Indonesian Unity Party (Perindo) and PSI under Grace Natalie are the new Political Parties which strongly protested the Law on General Election Article 173 Section (3) that is considered as not wise, discriminative and lack democratic accordingly it should be amended.

Pangi Syarwi Chaniago the Director of The Volvox Executive Centre  said: "The establishment of the new regulation on the Political Party Verification to be intended only for the new political party is lack democratic. Such discrimination policy, giving the special treatment to the old political parties should not be implemented." "The economic consideration as the reason of the Central Commission for the General Election to implement the Political Party Verification to only the new Political Parties is not logic, it is not expensive, it is only a very small part of the big General Election’s budget."  Pangi added.

Pangi is of the opinion the Political Party verification process should be applied to all Political parties which want to join the General Elction in 2019, because five years after 2914 various changing may happened:

a). The extension of administrative territory (the changing number of Provinces and Districts).
b). The changing in the Political Party concern (creating the woman, youth and student Wing).
c). The changing of the political party infra structure, changing the office building and movement.

Pangi said, if there will be such kind of discrimination in the application of the General Election regulation among the Political Parties, definitely it will create he bad image on the Indonesian democracy that  nationally and internationally.

Pangi describes, there are two significant remarks of Law on General Election in 2019 that The Constitution Court should pay serious attention: First, Presidential Threshold of 20% of seats  or 25 % of the national votes is not logic because the achievement of the national votes of the Political Party in the General Election of  2019 tend to be different  (might be lower) to the achievement in 2014; the General Election  and the Presidential Election are conducted simultaneously/ at the same  moment.

Second, the old political parties which were joining the General Election in 2014 are free from the Political Verification; the verification is only applied to the new political parties. This is not democratic and to be the bdiscriminative policy. These two illogical regulation should become legal complaints and to be brought  to the Constitution Court.

One of the Commissioner of the Central Commission  for General Election, however said he is personally of the opinion the urgent consultation between the Central Commission for the General Election and the House of Representative should be conducted to clarify the crucial meaning of the legal word "verification" and also Law on General Election Article 173 Section (3).

The Indonesian Unity Party (Perindo) is demanding the verification process should be applied to both the new political parties and also those of political parties which had been joining the General Election in 2014. Even the List of the Electors is revised, the Legal Adviser of Perindo said. It means all the Political Parties Factions in the present House of Representative should be also verified.

Also joining Perindo's attitude is The Indonesian Soidarity Party  (PSI) as the new political party, accordingly PSI is preparing to submit the legal complaint to the Law on General Election Article 173 Section (3) to the Constitution Court.

According to Asep Warlan Yusuf, the scholar on the State Law, of the University of Parahyangan, Bandung he is predicting the legal complaints to the Law on General Election Article 173 Section (3) will be accepted by The Constitution Court, because this Article  173 Section (3) in fact had been also complained in facing the General Election in 2014 and The Constitution Court accepted the complaint.

The commemoration of the 72 th Indonesian Independence especially  that was held in the Compound of the State Palace has been attractive and interesting and to become the main issue publish in the social media. No public debate on various political problems were published in the social media, but it will likely start  again when the moment of the commemoration of the 72 th Indonesian Independent Day is over.

And the problem of Political Party Verification concerning the General Election in 2019 will likely becomes one of the interesting political debate.

*) Political and Security Observer. He earned his master at the University of Indonesia (UI).