In addition to gaps in campaign finance regulations, all election laws that have been in force in Indonesia have contained provisions that are open to multiple interpretations and, in some cases, contradict one another. As a result, campaign finance management and reporting practices during the 2004 and 2009 General Elections, as well as the 2005–2008 and 2010–2013 Regional Elections, failed to contribute meaningfully to improving the quality of elections, particularly in upholding the principles of fairness and integrity.
From one election to the next, campaign expenditures have continued to increase, making elections an increasingly expensive political undertaking for political parties, legislative candidates, and executive candidates. This situation has encouraged politicians to constantly seek campaign funding through various means, resulting in many becoming entangled in corruption cases. Another consequence is that political parties, elected legislators, and elected executive officials may become directly or indirectly dependent on major donors, regardless of whether those donors acquired their resources through legal or illegal means.
This research identifies several key findings concerning the regulation and management of campaign finance, particularly in relation to campaign revenues, expenditures, and reporting mechanisms. In essence, existing campaign finance regulations have largely amounted to lip service—appearing robust on paper but lacking real substance in practice—because they have failed to genuinely uphold the principles of political freedom and equality, as well as transparency and accountability.
For this reason, concrete measures are needed to address these shortcomings. One of the key recommendations advanced in this study is the introduction of campaign finance limits. The book outlines the findings and advocacy efforts undertaken by Perludem in promoting campaign finance restrictions during the deliberation of the Election Law between 2011 and 2012. It also presents a comparative analysis of campaign finance regulations, particularly campaign spending limits, in South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, and France.
To learn more about the research findings, readers are invited to download the book Campaign Finance Lip Service: The Neglect of Transparency and Accountability Principles Among Election Participants through the download link provided below.
Didik Supriyanto dan Lia Wulandari
