The budget proposed by the KPU will be recalculated for efficiency
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian House of Representatives' Commission II member Guspardi Gaus called to recalculate the 2024 election budget proposed by the General Elections Commission (KPU) worth Rp86.2 trillion to prioritize efficiency.

"The budget proposed by the KPU will be recalculated for efficiency. In principle, the budget must be rational, objective, efficient, and effective," Gaus noted in his statement received here on Tuesday.

The House member remarked that the budget for the 2024 General Elections had tripled from that for the 2019 election on account of three factors: the salaries for election officers, office infrastructure, and vehicle operations.

The 2014 election budget reached around Rp16 trillion, while the 2019 election budget rose to around Rp27 trillion, and the proposed 2024 election budget was around Rp86.2 trillion.

"The KPU should be creative and innovative in planning the budget for the 2024 election," Gaus remarked.

Gaus also called on the elections commission to be considerate by taking into account the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic circumstances that had yet to recover, while proposing the 2024 Election budget.

Gaus noted that during a discussion recently, the KPU chairman had indicated that 70 percent of the total proposed budget was for honorariums.

"If it is calculated, it means that Rp60 trillion is only used for the honorarium. This is because the KPU proposed the honorarium for ad-hoc agency officers according to the regional minimum wage (UMR) in their respective regions," he stated.

Honorarium for the sub-district election committee (PPK), voting committee (PPS), and polling station working committees (KPPS) was proposed to be increased in accordance with the regional minimum wage (UMR) of the district or city concerned.

The soaring budget for the 2024 General Elections, proposed by the commission, is also for the procurement of office infrastructure, which is worth around Rp3.2 trillion, according to Gaus.

"However, the KPU does not have to build a new office and can utilize buildings and/or warehouses that are not used by the district/city and provincial governments," he suggested.

According to Gaus, the elections commission should have approached the home affairs minister, as the chief of regional heads, to facilitate communication for local government's buildings lending.

In addition, Gaus stated that the procurement of means of mobility, which amounted to around Rp287 billion, was large enough.

He suggested the KPU to find other methods or use existing cars.

Gaus noted that Commission II of the House will soon discuss the 2024 election budget in further detail with the government and election organizers.

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Translator: Imam B, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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