JAKARTA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's General Elections Commission, locally called KPU, qualified here on Saturday 14 political parties to run in legislative and presidential elections next year.
Those qualified in the elections to select new parliament members and new president for the next five-year service tenure were picked from 16 political parties registered themselves to the KPU earlier.
"Qualification of those political parties were resulted from administration research and national recapitulation based on nationwide factual verification in the field," KPU Chairman Arief Budiman said in a session to announce the qualified parties for 2019 elections.
Ten of the qualified political parties are those that have shaped up factions in the current parliament.
They are comprised of the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), National Awakening Party (PKB), United Development Party (PPP), National Democrat (Nasdem), National Mandate Party (PAN), People's Conscience Party (Hanura), Democratic Party (PD), Golongan Karya (Golkar), Prosperous Justice Party and Great Indonesia Party (Gerindra).
The other four political parties are newcomers in Indonesian politics and they are Perindo, Indonesia Solidarity Party, Berkarya Party and the Garuda Party.
Different from the previous elections, Indonesia will see for the first time ever an election process to elect president, central and regional legislative members in a single day on April 17 next year.
The KPU has set the campaign period for the elections from Oct. 13 this year to April 13 next year.
