The Kazakh Justice Ministry has refused to re-register four political parties under the controversial law on political parties that was adopted in 2002, the Almaty newspaper \"Vremya\" on 6 March. The four small parties that were denied re-registration are Yel Dana, Alash, the Party of Fellow Countrymen, and the Patriots\' Party of Kazakhstan. The law on parties raised the minimum number of members a political party must have to register from 3,000 to 50,000. Opposition political leaders in Kazakhstan have charged that the intent of the law is to prevent their participation in the country\'s political life. Yerlan Saparov, chairman of the ministry\'s Registration Committee, told \"Vremya\" that the refusal was based on the parties\' statutes and membership lists. He reportedly added that the parties could contest the decision in court. (RFE/RL)