The Increase In Political Party Assistance Funds Must Be Accompanied By Strengthening Independent Audit

Illustration of aid funds for political parties. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA Secretary General of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), Kaka Suminta revealed that the increase in aid funds for political parties (political parties) can be accepted as long as it is proportional and performance-based.

According to him, the safe limit for the allocation of political party aid funds ranges from 0.02 to 0.03 percent of the total APBN.

Therefore, an increase of 10-15 percent per year is considered still ideal when considering inflation and the need for political parties in various regeneration programs.

He stated that the state is obliged to fund political parties so that they do not depend on sources of funding not to be transparent.

This is because the two ideal sources of political party funding are from the state and from member fees.

However, membership fees are still difficult to realize significantly.

Therefore, assistance from the state needs to be strengthened to ensure that political parties do not seek illegal money through their cadres in parliament and executive institutions.

"Parpol assistance funds must be accompanied by strict prerequisites such as transparency, accountability, and good financial reporting. It is not enough just based on votes in the election. There must be a performance system that is considered comprehensively," said Kaka, Sunday, July 20, 2025.

He emphasized the importance of proportional measures for increasing political party funds. For example, in a study in 2023, ideally the funds given are around Rp. 20,000 per valid vote.

The increase in political funds must also consider the balance of financing between the APBN and the APBD.

If it's too small, it's not enough to support the activities of political parties. Moreover, parties participating in the election must have permanent offices, secretariats, administrators, and the number of members at least according to the requirements, which is about one by one thousand of the population. Maintenance of organizations like this certainly requires a big cost," he added.

Kaka said that the increase in aid funds for political parties must also be accompanied by strengthening an independent audit of political party financial reports. Because so far, the independent audit system has never been carried out regularly, and the results are rarely published.

"If there is no transparency, this is no longer a matter of budget efficiency, but a matter of potential corruption. Political party aid funds are not just numbers in the APBN, this is a democratic investment. Without strong accountability, it will actually strengthen the political elite, not democracy," he said.

Kaka suggested that there is an integrated information system that can be accessed by the public to track the use of aid funds.

This system can be built with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs, because currently the General Elections Commission (KPU) does not yet have a special slot for it.

He emphasized the importance of reporting funds that are not problematic and strict sanctions in the event of a violation.

In addition, the party must submit a plan to use funds first so that the direction of use is clear and easy to evaluate if there are irregularities.

"This fund is not only for party elites, but also for building strong organizations from the center to the regions. There must be certification of cadres, member data collection, and a clear regeneration system," added Kaka.

Previously, the government planned to increase aid funds for political parties. At the DPR RI level, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed that aid funds for political parties increase from Rp1,000 per valid vote to Rp3,000 per vote.

Provisions related to political party assistance funds are regulated by Government Regulation (PP) Number 1 of 2018 concerning the Second Amendment to PP Number 5 of 2009 concerning Political Party Financial Assistance.

Article 1 paragraph (2) states that political party funds are financial assistance sourced from the APBN or APBD which is given proportionally to political parties that get seats in the DPR, provincial DPRD, and district/city DPRD whose calculations are based on the number of votes acquired.