The Elections Committee just released the list of political parties, both existing and new, which are eligible to enter the 2009 general elections. Of course, the old players like PDI-P, Golkar, PAN, PKB, and PPP are there. And PKS is still in it too, sadly. In total, there are 16 parties that passed the 2004 electoral threshold; therefore, they are automatically entered in the coming election. Additionally, there are numerous new players on the table. Eighteen of them, to be exact. That brings the number of parties up to 34, compared to 24 in the last election.
Those infant parties have the most creative names of all. I said it both wholeheartedly and sarcastically. The nice side of it comes from the fact that it's not easy to formulate a catchy name when there were already so many parties with different names each. It's like naming a baby, actually. It's not an easy job to find a great name for the baby that hasn't been used like a thousand times. However, some names are too template-ish, while some are simply laughable.
The first category includes new parties with names that consists of trite, cheesy words like "national", "democracy", "unity", and the whole gang. Even worse is that those words doesn't show what their platform is. There's no one brave enough to just plainly name his/her party "Liberal Party", "Centrist Party", "Green Party", or "Islamic-Ultraconservative Party". (I think I totally should stop bashing PKS.....naah). Let's say that I'm making a new party and want to name it. I'll cut some paper, then I'll write those overused words on each piece. The must-have words will most probably be "democracy", "national", "unity", "people", "development", and "justice" along with others. After that, I'll put them in a bowl and randomly pick two or three papers. Finally, I'll just put together whatever words I get and make it the name of my party. Simple enough.
The second is more "unique" and it's hard to keep a straight face when you read it. One of them sounds like a Republican party-wannabee, Partai Republika Nusantara or RepublikaN, for short. I hope there's no resemblance to the war mongering party whatsoever. Partai Hanura is another case: Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat -People's Conscience Party. It sounds like those corny advices: let your heart choose, your heart knows what's best for you. Maybe they want to attract the support of the subconscious. Partai Pengusaha dan Pekerja Indonesia, loosely the Entrepreneurs and Workers' of Indonesia Party. Next time, it'll be Hot and Cold Party, or Water and Oil Party. That's smart.
Some parties will give translator a hard time. Partai Nasional Benteng Kerakyatan. Put it in English, National People's Fortress Party...or something along that line. Partai Kasih Demokrasi Indonesia: Indonesian Democracy Love, Love of Indonesian Democracy, Indonesian Love of Democracy; what were they thinking?
Update: apparently, Partai Nasional Benteng Kerakyatan is translated into English as National Populist Fortress Party. Not that it'll improve anything...
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