Noticias

Political parties are expected to file electoral disputes with the Constitutional Court when the General Elections Commission (KPU) finishes its official vote count by May 9.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) liaison to the KPU Sudyatmiko Aribowo said on Tuesday that his team had found irregularities in the vote-counting in some electoral districts.

A researcher from the Anticorruption Study Center (Pukat) at Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, Hifdzil Alim, says Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad should reject an offer to run for vice president as such an offer was just political maneuvering on the part of the party concerned.

He said the party made the offer in an attempt to come across as a clean party that was against corruption.

“Pukat hopes that Abraham Samad will not be lulled by the party’s sweet talk,” said Hifdzil on Wednesday as quoted by tempo.co.

Gerindra Party presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto met with Golkar Party's Aburizal Bakrie at the latter's residence in Central Jakarta on Monday to discuss a potential coalition ahead the July 9 presidential election.

Prabowo arrived around 12.30 p.m. Golkar politicians downplayed the meeting as merely "Aburizal hosting Prabowo for lunch."

Prabowo is a former Golkar member. After losing the party's presidential convention in 2004, he left the party and founded Gerindra.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has delayed the announcement of the final tally of votes from 130 Overseas Election Committees (PPLNs) as D1 forms have yet to arrive in Indonesia, a commissioner has said.

“As many as 130 PPLNs have completed the recapitulation of votes; however, original D1 forms from 10 PPLNs have not yet arrived,” KPU commissioner Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah said on the sidelines of an open vote recapitulation plenary meeting in Jakarta on Sunday, as quoted by Antara.

Supporters of Rhoma Irama have said that the self-styled king of dangdut would be better off leaving the National Awakening Party (PKB) after a lack of certainty regarding his potential presidential candidacy from the Islamic-based party. 

Rhoma’s official group of supporters, known as Rhoma Irama for Presiden RI (Riforri), said on Saturday that the singer had decided to withdraw his support from the PKB if the party did not nominate him as a presidential candidate.

A political consultant has warned that the Gerindra Party’s presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto will suffer the most if a group of political parties that managed to gain less than 10 percent of the vote form another coalition.

Yunarto Wijaya of Charta Politika said currently there were three larger parties that were likely to form coalitions with middle-sized parties. They are the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Gerindra and the Golkar Party, the top-three parties according to quick-count surveys.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in his capacity as the chairman of the Democratic Party, is slated to meet with the party’s 33 provincial branch leaders at his residence in Cikeas, West Java, on Saturday afternoon to discuss the party’s next moves ahead of the July 9 presidential election.

The meeting is aimed at seeking input from regional party branches in relation to the idea of having the ruling party form its own coalition and nominate its own presidential candidate, party member Roy Suryo Notodiprojo told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The Gerindra Party has emerged as the biggest spender in the 2014 legislative election.

In its final campaign financial report, the party claims to have spent Rp 435 billion (US$37.5 million) on its campaign, eightfold more than the Rp 53 billion the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) spent on its campaign.

The PKPI spent less than any other party on its campaign. 

Behind Gerindra is the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which spent Rp 404 billion, followed closely by the Golkar Party with Rp 402 billion.