Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo (second left) accompanied by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly (fifth left) shares a light moment before a closed meeting with members of a special committee on the general elections bill at the legislative complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday (10/7). The working meeting discussed the determination of four crucial issues, including the legislative threshold, vote conversion method, electoral district division and the general elections system to be used.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Special Committee on the general elections bill has been negligent in it finishing a number of required regulations to strengthen democracy in Indonesia. The House of Representatives and the government have become tied up in issues that are directly related to the existence and interests of their respective institutions.
Deliberations of the bill, which have been ongoing for nine months, have resulted in a number of weaknesses, such as in the provision on the prevention of and measures against vote-buying, as well as accountability in reports on donations for campaign funds. Both these issues, if seriously discussed, could help create clean elections.
Another thing is the conditioning of electoral regions that still prioritize party interests and neglect fulfilling the principle of justice and equality in the aspect of representation. Political parties at the House of Representatives often avoid addressing the matter of badly organized electoral regions, which would ensure well-run polls in the regions in the upcoming election.
Increased donations
As cited in the effort to synchronize elections bill provisions last week, the limit on campaign donations from individuals or corporations has in fact been significantly increased. The limit for donations from individuals for presidential and legislative election campaign funds has been increased from Rp 1 billion to Rp 2.5 billion. Meanwhile, the limit for corporate donations has been increased to Rp 25 billion from previously only Rp 7.5 billion.
Despite the rise in the nominal limit of donations, accountability and report mechanisms have not been regulated in detail. In a report of the bill on July 8, an old paragraph that bans candidates or parties from using campaign funds from donations that exceed the limit has been removed.
In the old regulation, candidates must report to the General Elections Commission (KPU) and hand over donations that are in excess of the limit to the state treasury within 14 days after the end of the campaign period at the latest. Candidates that violate this rule will be sanctioned.
“The figures for campaign donations have been increased, but accountability has not been improved at all,” said executive director of the Association for Elections and Democracy, Titi Anggraini, on Monday (17/7). According to Titi, what the House has done is the same as placing money as the main tool to achieve victory in elections.
The chairman of the special committee for the draft bill, Lukman Eddy from the National Awakening Party (PKB), said that a number of things regarding campaign donations were asked internally by special committee members in the deliberation of the bill. However, he assured that the regulation that banned candidates from using excess donations as campaign funds would not be removed. “There were suggestions to remove it, but it has not been removed,” he said.
A special committee member from the Nasdem Party, Johnny Plate, denied that the House and the government had been negligent in discussing important issues for the strengthening of democracy.
