The political costs of legislative candidates facing the 2024 elections are increasing

The costs for legislative candidates in contesting the 2024 election are estimated to be greater than in previous elections. It's worth billions.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Biaya Politik Caleg Hadapi Pemilu 2024 Membengkak

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

Campaign banners of several legislative candidates can be seen on Walanda Maramis Street in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Thursday (7/12/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A number of legislative candidates predict that campaign costs to fight in the 2024 election will be greater than in the previous election. Tight competition and anticipation of fraud are a number of influencing factors. Although high campaign costs cannot be avoided amidst an open proportional electoral system, this needs to be reduced by eroding the transactional nature of contestation.

Habiburokhman, a member of the Gerindra Party faction in the People's Representative Council (DPR), acknowledged the large political costs involved in participating in legislative elections (pileg). The Deputy Chairperson of the Gerindra Party said that he spent up to IDR 2 billion on campaign costs when contesting in the Jakarta I Electoral District (Dapil) in the 2019 Election. Of the total funds, some were used to buy props.

For example, the purchase of t-shirts should ideally match the number of voters. In Jakarta I region, according to Habiburokhman, there are approximately 31,000 voters. With simple calculation, the cost of purchasing t-shirts alone could reach up to Rp 3.1 billion. Not to mention the additional cost of making billboards and other props.

However, according to Habiburokhman, the purchase of such props can be minimized because it can be replaced with direct interaction with voters. Despite being a first-time contestant in 2019, he chose to intensify his visits to the homes of residents.

KURNIA YUNITA RAHAYU

Deputy Chairman of Gerindra Party Habiburokhman (center), in Jakarta, Thursday (9/11/2023).

Outside of that, there is a non-negotiable expense, namely the operational cost for the witnesses to oversee the vote count.

"The largest expense incurred is for safeguarding the votes and financing the operationalization of witnesses in the district. This can total up to Rp 1 billion as expenses can reach up to Rp 30 million per day," said Habiburokhman when contacted from Jakarta on Thursday (7/12/2023)."

Also read: Political Party Witnesses, Spearheads of Voting Guards in Elections

The high cost of safeguarding the votes cannot be postponed, he said. The role of witnesses is crucial in the face of potential election fraud that cannot be eliminated. This is not only the case in the 2019 general election, but also in the 2024 general election.

Therefore, the amount of cost that will be incurred to contest again in the 2024 legislative elections is predicted to not decrease compared to five years ago. However, he did not detail the funds that have been spent during the early weeks of the campaign, which has been ongoing since November 28th. "In my opinion, it will definitely be higher. The price of rice in 2019 and 2024 is different. The price of shirts as well," said Habiburokhman.

KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Residents walked in front of a campaign banner for a legislative candidate in the 2024 Election on Matraman Raya Street, Jakarta, on Wednesday (December 6, 2023).

He also claims that the amount of campaign funds spent is often considered too small. Based on the information he obtained, some other candidates generally spend funds in the range of Rp 20 billion-Rp 25 billion. "But, you know, the cost for each person is different. It is very possible that there are those who are much smaller than me," said Habiburokhman.

He considered that high financing could not be avoided in the midst of an open proportional election system. In addition to the fact that candidates need to compete individually, there is also no prohibition on campaigning independently with their own financing. "Perhaps this can be reduced by, for example, prohibiting the use of campaign tools other than those provided by the KPU (General Election Commission)," suggested Habiburokhman.

High competition

The high cost of campaigns has also been acknowledged by Trimedya Panjaitan, a member of the Faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who is running for re-election as a candidate in the North Sumatra II Electoral District in the 2024 elections. He predicts that the total campaign funds to be spent will reach more than Rp 3 billion, which is the total amount of campaign funds he spent in the 2019 elections.

"In 2024, it will be even more challenging due to internal and external competition, as all political parties (parpol) will be putting forth their best cadres. For instance, in the Sumatera 2 constituency, there will be two former regents with clear voter bases," Trimedya revealed.

Also read: Tandem Legislative Candidates, Symbiosis of Mutualism to Attract Voters' Votes

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KOMPAS/SATRIO PANGARSO WISANGGENI

Trimedya Panjaitan

He revealed that such high costs are generally necessary to approach constituents. Every gathering agenda aimed at presenting the vision and mission requires operational funding, ranging from providing refreshments to giving allowances to citizens.

Furthermore, the 2024 general election will be held simultaneously. Candidates on the ground not only have to campaign for themselves, but also for presidential and vice presidential candidates from their respective political parties and their coalitions. It is undeniable that this will increase logistics and operational costs when meeting with constituents. "Our speeches, that used to be 10 minutes, could become 15 minutes," said Trimedya.

Just like Habiburokhman, Trimedya also claimed that the total campaign funds he spent were not as much as other candidates. This was possible due to his strong voter base and social capital within his constituents. Trimedya has been a member of the DPR since the 2004 election.

"I already have a reputation, frequently interviewed by the media, and often go out into the field. If someone is a newcomer, it's much more difficult," he stated.

Also read: The Secret of Legislative Candidates with Short Capital Penetrating Parliament

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

The officers demonstrated the preparation of ballot boxes in the Election Logistics Loading, Sorting, Folding, and Packaging Simulation for the 2024 election at the Regional General Election Commission (KPU) office in Bogor Regency, Cibinong, West Java on Thursday (27/7/2023).

According to Trimedya, the high cost of campaigning cannot yet be reduced despite the advancement of information technology. Ideally, candidate campaigns should optimize the use of social media to reach all voters. However, the uneven access and digital literacy among citizens, particularly in their electoral districts, prevent technology from being fully maximized for campaigning.

Transactional politics

Amidst this situation, he also noticed the community's transactional tendency. With that tendency, the culture of corruption that accompanies the high cost of organizing elections cannot be avoided. "This is what we must continuously educate the public on, if we want this country to be clean, the people must also be aware, do not engage in transactions," said Trimedya.

Law lecturer on elections at the University of Indonesia, Titi Anggraini, stated that high-cost politics cannot be separated from transactional practices between candidates and voters. This is considered to occur in the dark rooms that campaign finance accountability cannot reach. Therefore, the acknowledgement of the amount of campaign funds needed to win elections is generally not reflected in the reports made by candidates for their respective political parties.

However, according to Titi, the high costs of campaigning can actually be reduced by using social media. With the help of technology, the reach of voters can be wider and more massive even with lower costs.

KOMPAS/EMANUEL EDI SAPUTRA

The lecturer of election law at the University of Indonesia, Titi Anggraini, on Monday (13/11/2023).

"Furthermore, the utilization of party structure and support from party cadres should facilitate the movement of candidates to reach out to voters. Indeed, within the open proportional election system, parties should not be absolved of responsibility. Parties also need to consolidate their structure and cadres to be involved in the work of winning over the candidates," he said.

More than that, efforts to build and nurture political relationships with groups based on strong mass support are also necessary. For example, religious community organizations, women's groups, youth groups, or professional associations can also form strong connections between voters and candidates. This step could be an alternative to avoid transactional politics.

Suspicious transactions

The tendency of transactional politics in the midst of high-cost elections cannot be separated from the potential for unlawful use of funds. The Head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), Ivan Yustiavandana, acknowledged that his office has been monitoring suspicious financial transactions since the beginning of the campaign period. Although he did not specify the results, he mentioned that there have been many findings regarding this matter.

"The reporting has greatly increased at this time. We found vulnerabilities, especially in cash financial transactions," said Ivan on Thursday.

Also read: Penetrating the Election "Wilderness" on a Scientific Basis

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

Head of Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) Ivan Yustiavandana was present at the Presidential Palace Compound in Jakarta on Monday (6/11/2023).

Last September, Ivan also explained that PPATK was closely monitoring the flow of campaign funds for the 2024 election. This supervision was necessary because PPATK was still finding election participants who did not comply with the rules in KPU Regulation Number 18 of 2023 concerning Campaign Funds. One indication is that there were transactions carried out outside the special campaign fund account (Kompas, 16/9/2023).