List of political parties in Indonesia

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Since 1999, Indonesia has had a multi-party system. In the four legislative elections since the fall of the New Order regime, no political party has won an overall majority of seats, resulting in coalition governments.

All political parties must have Pancasila as one of their stated ideologies^[1] as a reminder of its sacred status as state ideology, particularly during the New Order.^{[citation needed]}

Overview[]

The Indonesian political party system is regulated by Law No.2/2008 on political parties.^[2] The law defines political party as "a national organisation founded by like-minded Indonesian citizens with common goals to fulfill common interests and to defend the unity of the nation based on Pancasila and the national constitution, UUD 1945".

Political parties must register themselves with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights to be recognised by the authority. The law dictates that political parties' registration criteria shall include a notarial act recognising the party establishment and party constitution; a document describing party symbols; address of party headquarters and prove of distribution of party local offices in provinces, and cities and regencies; and a prove of party bank account.^[2][3] The law also dictates minimum membership of new political parties on 50 persons, with the percentage of woman members and allocation of woman members to party offices are set on a minimum of 30%.

The party must undergo another registration process in order to participate in national elections; the registration shall be submitted to the General Elections Commission (KPU).^[4] Political parties whose had their registration declined by the electoral commission due to failure to satisfy administrative criteria or other reasons, are able to appeal their rejection to the General Election Supervisory Agency (BAWASLU).^[5]

Party principles[]

Indonesian political party should recognise the superiority of Pancasila, the national philosophy

Indonesian political parties should recognise the superiority of Pancasila and the national constitution, but Indonesian law tolerates the practice of other ideologies not in violation of the Pancasila and the constitution. Indonesian law, however, explicitly prohibits establishment of a communist party, and political parties are banned from adopting communism as the party ideology.^[2]

In essence, Indonesian political parties differs little on party policy and ideology. The only major difference between Indonesian parties is their position as to how major a role Islam, by far the nation's majority religion, should play in public affairs.^[6] This tendency resulting in several Indonesian political parties to brand itself as the part of nationalist-religious broad coalition in order to attract potential voters from both Muslim and secular nationalist groups.

The language of the left–right political spectrum is seldom used in Indonesia, in contrast with other countries. This tendency arose as the result of the New Order regime under Suharto which was anathema to left-wing policies after the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-66 of members and supporters of the Communist Party of Indonesia.^[6] The New Order regime further stigmatised left-wing ideals as those espoused only by communists, discouraging Indonesian political parties from identifying themselves as left-wing movements lest they lose potential voters and be accused as communist. This tendency has survived even after the 1998 Reforms, partly due to the new regime's insistence on keeping anti-communist legislation in force.

Parties represented in legislatures[]

Parties represented in national and regional legislatures[]

Parties represented only in regional legislatures[]

These parties participates on national elections - the last was in 2019 - yet failed to attain a single seat in the DPR due to failing to pass 4% parliamentary threshold.^[7] Notable failure was of Hanura, that was failed to return to DPR despite winning seats in 2014 election. Despite electoral failure in the DPR, these parties successfully gain seat in regional parliaments (DPRD).

Aceh special autonomy statutes allowed formation of local political parties to compete only in the People's Representative Council of Aceh. Although the party number is serialised from the national list, Aceh local parties only appeared in ballot paper circulating in Aceh province.^[8]

Extra-parliamentary parties[]

These political parties have no representation in either national or regional parliaments.

The term "partai gurem" (minor party, literally "tropical fowl mite party" referring to the small size) is commonly used by Indonesian media to refer to these political parties. The term initially referred to political parties that won a very small number of parliamentary seat, but after the 2004 election, to political parties that have no chance of surpassing the parliamentary threshold necessary to gain representation on the People's Representative Council.^[9] These political parties are often perceived to be lacking in organisational structure, their leaders seemingly interested solely in attracting media attention.^[9]

These parties often have their attempts at registering for elections turned down by the KPU due to the parties' failure to satisfy registration criteria set by the commission, which includes completeness of party documents, a permanent physical party headquarters, minimum membership and minimum percentage of woman members.^[10][11] Parties that had their registration rejected often resort to appealing their rejection to the BAWASLU, with varied success.^[12]

Name[13]			Leader	Established	Contested elections
					1999	2004	2009	2014	2019
	Republican Party Partai Republik	Republik	Suharno Prawiro	1998[14]		In dormancy
	Indonesian Bhinneka Party Partai Bhinneka Indonesia	PBI	Nurdin Purnomo	1998 As "Indonesian Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Party"[15]
	Reform Party Partai Reformasi	Reformasi	Syamsahril Kamal	2000
	National Unity Party Partai Pemersatu Bangsa	PPB	Eggi Sudjana	2001[16]	Not yet established
	Indonesian National Party Marhaenism Partai Nasional Indonesia Marhaenisme	PNI Marhaen	Sukmawati Soekarnoputri	2002
	New Indonesia National Sovereignty Party Partai Kedaulatan Bangsa Indonesia Baru	PKBIB	Yenny Wahid	2002 As "New Indonesian Alliance Party"
	Indonesian Workers and Employers Party Partai Pengusaha dan Pekerja Indonesia	PPPI	Daniel Hutapea	2002
	Indonesian Green Party Partai Hijau Indonesia	PHI		2012	Not yet established
	People's Party Partai Rakyat	Rakyat	I Ketut Tenang	2014	Not yet established
	Indonesian People's Voice Party Partai Swara Rakyat Indonesia	Parsindo	M. Jusuf Rizal	2016	Not yet established
	Working Indonesia Party Partai Indonesia Kerja	PIKA	Hartoko Adi Oetomo	2016	Not yet established
	Indonesian People's Wave Party Partai Gelombang Rakyat Indonesia	Gelora	Anis Matta	2019	Not yet established
	Bright Indonesia Party Partai Indonesia Terang	PIT	Rizayati	2020[17]	Not yet established
	Indonesian Sovereign Nation Party Partai Negeri Daulat Indonesia	Pintar	Farhat Abbas	2020	Not yet established
	Ummah Party Partai Ummat	Ummat	Ridho Rahmadi	2021	Not yet established
	Just and Prosperous People's Party Partai Rakyat Adil dan Makmur	Prima	Agus Jabo Priyono	2021	Not yet established

Historical political parties[]

Political parties participating in 1955 and 1971 elections[]

Logo	Name[18][19]		Established	Dissolved	Contested elections
					1955	1971
	Indonesian Islamic Union Party Partai Serikat Islam Indonesia	PSII	1923 1947	1973
	Nahdlatul Ulama	NU	1952[20]	1973 Still active as religious organisation
	Indonesian National Party Partai Nasional Indonesia	PNI	1927[21]	1973
	Communist Party of Indonesia Partai Komunis Indonesia	PKI	1929[22]	1966[23] Banned
	Islamic Education Movement Pergerakan Tarbijah Islamijah	Perti	1930[24]	1973
	Masyumi Party Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia	Masyumi	1943[25]	1960[26] Revived in 2020[27]
	Indonesian Christian Party Partai Kristen Indonesia	Parkindo	1945[28]	1973
	Catholic Party Partai Katolik		1945	1973
	Socialist Party of Indonesia Partai Sosialis Indonesia	PSI	1945[28]	1960 Banned
	Indonesian Marhaen People's Union Persatuan Rakyat Marhaen Indonesia	Permai	1945[28]
	Popular Consultative Party Partai Musyawarah Rakyat Banyak	Murba	1948	1973 Revived in 1998[29]
	Labour Party Partai Buruh		1949
	National People's Party Partai Rakyat Nasional	PRN	1950
	Indonesian People's Party Partai Rakyat Indonesia	PRI	1950[30]
	League of Supporters of Indonesian Independence Ikatan Pendukung Kemerdekaan Indonesia	IPKI	1954[31]	1973 Revived in 1998[32]
	Pancasila Defender Movement Gerakan Pembela Pantja Sila	GPPS	1955
	Police Employee Association of the Republic of Indonesia Persatuan Pegawai Polisi Republik Indonesia		1955
	Indonesian Citizenship Consultative Assembly Badan Permusjawaratan Kewarganegaraan Indonesia	Baperki	1954
	Great Indonesia Unity Party Partai Indonesia Raya - Wongsonegoro	PIR
	Indonesian Movement Gerakan Indonesia	GI	1955
	Dayak Unity Party Partai Persatuan Dayak	PPD	1946	1959 Banned
	Great Indonesia Party "Hazairin" Partai Indonesia Raya	PIR - Hazairin
	Islamic Tharikah Unity Party Partai Persatuan Tharikah Islam	PPTI
	Islamic Victory Force Angkatan Kemenangan Umat Islam	AKUI
	Village People's Union Persatuan Rakjat Desa	PRD
	Party of the People of Free Indonesia Partai Rakjat Indonesia Merdeka	PRIM
	Young Communist Force Angkatan Communis Muda	Acoma	1952	1965 Banned
	Muslim Party of Indonesia Partai Muslimin Indonesia	Parmusi	1967[33]	1973

Political parties of the New Order[]

After his rise into power, President Suharto expressed his discontent regarding multiple political parties, arguing that the failure of Konstituante in 1955-1959 was caused by party deadlock - unacceptable his regime.^[34] He proposed that existing political parties unite based on their ideological essence – either spiritual (religious) or materialist (secular nationalist) - in order to cripple the resulting umbrella parties with infighting. Political parties' reaction to Suharto's propositions was generally positive, with Islamic parties claiming that party fusion was in line with their last National Islamic Congress resolution agreed in 1969. A political alliance dubbed the "Democratic Development Group" was formed by the PNI, the IPKI, Parkindo, the Murba Party, and the Catholic Party to compete in 1971 election.^[35]

After 1971 election, New Order regime reiterated its call for political parties to fuse, and a MPR ordinance regulating political parties grouping issued in 1973 further pressured political parties to merge.^[36]

All Islamic political parties merged to form the United Development Party (PPP) on 5 January 1973, and the remaining nationalist and non-Islamic political parties united to form the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) on 10 January 1973.^[36] Golkar, officially a "federation of public organisations" but effectively a political party, remained dominant for the entirety of the New Order.

The parties participated for the last time in the 1997 election, and the three-party system survived until the collapse of the New Order in 1998 Reformasi. Ensuing political liberalisation allowed establishment of multitudes of new political parties, with the number of political parties participating in 1999 election jumping substantially to 48 parties.

After the Reform, the PPP survived and continues to participate in all following elections after 1999, albeit with much of its membership having broken off from it and founded their own parties. Golkar too was made a proper party and exists to this day. The PDI failed to imitate the post-Suharto successes of the PPP and Golkar after the government intervened and unseated Chairman Megawati Soekarnoputri, causing PDI support to collapse in the 1997 election. PDI votes further eroded as support instead went to its breakaway Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle (PDI-P), led by Megawati in the post-Suharto 1999 election, resulting in the party winning only two seats in contrast to the PDI-P's 153 seats. After poor electoral performance and failure to register for the 2004 election, PDI rebranded itself as the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI) in 2003.^[37]

Logo		Name		Established	Dissolved
		Joint Committee of Functional Groups Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya	Golkar	1964	Continued as Golkar Party
		Indonesian Democratic Party Partai Demokrasi Indonesia	PDI	1973[38]	2003 Continued as PPDI[37]
		United Development Party Partai Persatuan Pembangunan	PPP	1973[39]	Continued as PPP

Political parties in post-Reform[]

Name[40][41][42][43]		Established	Dissolved	Contested elections
				2004	2009
Labour Party Partai Buruh	PB	1998 As "National Labour Party"[44]
People's Democratic Party Partai Rakyat Demokratik	PRD	1996[45]	2021 Merged to form Just and Prosperous People's Party
Indonesian Democratic Party of Devotion Partai Kasih Demokrasi Indonesia	PKDI	1998	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Patriot Party Partai Patriot		1998	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Ulema National Awakening Party Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama	PKNU	2000s	2013 In coalition agreement with PPP[47]
Archipelago Republic Party Partai Republika Nusantara	RepublikaN	2001	2013 Merged into Hanura[48]
Prosperous Peace Party Partai Damai Sejahtera	PDS	2001	2013 Merged into Hanura[48]
Pioneers' Party Partai Pelopor	PP	2002	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Reform Star Party Partai Bintang Reformasi	PBR	2002	2011 Merged into Gerindra[49]
Regional Unity Party Partai Persatuan Daerah	PPD	2002	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Concern for the Nation Functional Party Partai Karya Peduli Bangsa	PKPB	2002
Democratic Nationhood Party Partai Demokrasi Kebangsaan	PDK	2002	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Freedom Party Partai Merdeka	PM	2002	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Indonesian Unity Party Partai Sarikat Indonesia	PSI	2002	2005 Merged into PAN[50]
Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party Partai Persatuan Nahdlatul Ummah Indonesia	PPNUI	2003
Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party Partai Penegak Demokrasi Indonesia	PPDI	2003	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Democratic Renewal Party Partai Demokrasi Pembaruan	PDP	2005	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Sovereignty Party Partai Kedaulatan	PK	2006	2013 Merged into Hanura[48]
National People's Concern Party Partai Rakyat Peduli Nasional	PRPN	2006	2013 Merged into Hanura[48]
National Sun Party Partai Matahari Bangsa	PMB	2006	2014[51]
Functional Party of Struggle Partai Karya Perjuangan	Pakar Pangan	2007	2012 Merged into Democratic Party[52]
Indonesian Youth Party Partai Pemuda Indonesia	PPI	2007	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
National Front Party Partai Barisan Nasional	PBN	2007
Prosperous Indonesia Party Partai Indonesia Sejahtera	PIS	-	2011 Merged to form National Unity Party[46]
Peace and Safe Islamic Party Partai Islam Damai Aman	Idaman	2015	2018 Merged into PAN[53]	Not yet established

Parties participating only in 1999 elections[]

Following political liberalisation after the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998 Reformasi, registration for new political parties jumped significantly. As the result, the following 1999 election had 48 political parties competing for DPR seats, compared to the previous 1997 election that saw only 2 political parties plus Golkar.

Several parties claimed inheritance from former political parties existing prior to the New Order era, resulting in parties sharing similar political party names, with faction names as the only characteristics that made those parties distinct from each other. Example on this case was on claimants to the heritage of the former Indonesian National Party (PNI) and Masyumi Party. ^[54]

Most of the parties failed to gain even a single seat due to lack of votes. After the new electoral law authorised the use of a parliamentary threshold to determine the division of DPR seats, those parties were forced to reorganise themselves in order to be able to register for the next 2004 election.^[55]

Below is the list of political parties participating only in the 1999 election which failed to participate in the next 2004 election.

Pre-independence organisations[]

Others[]

See also[]

• Politics of Indonesia
• List of political parties by country
• List of youth wings of political parties in Indonesia

References[]

• Feith, Herbert (2007) The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia Equinox Publishing (Asia) Pte Ltd, ISBN 979-3780-45-2
• Ricklefs, M.C. (1991). A history of modern Indonesia since c.1200. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4480-5