2024 Election Fund Reaches IDR 86 Trillion, DPR Leader Dasco: KPU Knows Better What Can Be Saved

JAKARTA - The DPR leadership has asked the General Elections Commission (KPU) to review and minimize the total budget plan for the 2024 General Election (Pemilu) which reached Rp86 trillion. DPR believes there are posts that can still be saved.

"We hope that the request for funds requested by the KPU can be minimized," said Deputy Speaker of the DPR, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad at the DPR Building, Monday, August 20.

According to Dasco, this figure needs to be reconsidered considering Indonesia's current economic condition is in a difficult situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The daily chairman of the Gerindra Party DPP understands that the KPU's proposal includes the costs of the stages that will be carried out during the election. However, said Dasco, it is also necessary to look at it situationally. Dasco also agreed with the proposal of Commission II of the DPR to consider adjustments to each stage of the simultaneous general election in 2024.

"We leave it to the technical commission and KPU, which of course know better which stages can be saved in order to save state finances and to maintain economic stability," he concluded.

Previously, the KPU proposed a budget for the upcoming 2024 Simultaneous Elections amounting to Rp. 86 trillion. The details of the budget consist of Rp. 8.4 trillion from the 2021 State Budget or 10 percent, and Rp. 13.2 trillion from the 2022 State Budget or 15 percent.

Then, Rp 24.9 trillion from the 2023 State Budget or 29 percent, Rp 36.5 trillion from the 2024 State Budget or 42 percent, and Rp 3.09 trillion from the 2025 State Budget or 4 percent. KPU to the regions. The reason, he said, is that there are still many KPU offices in the regions that the regional government rents and lends.

"Because our proposed budget includes strengthening our infrastructure, including building construction. Many of our offices are rented and some are still being lent by the local government," Ilham explained during a working meeting with Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Thursday, September 16. The KPU also proposed a budget of Rp. 13.295 trillion in 2022 for the preparation stage for the 2024 General Election. It is known that the stages of implementing the 2024 Simultaneous National Election and Regional Head Elections are planned to start in 2022. However, according to Ilham, the amount of budget available from the Ministry of Finance is still far from the KPU's needs.

"What now exists with the Ministry of Finance is only IDR 2 trillion. The KPU's budget needs for the 2022 budget year, we hope to be approved for IDR 13,295,842,682,000," he explained.