Bamsoet Discusses Political Party Reforms, Highlights Meritocracy-Pragmatism
In its development, strengthening democracy cannot be separated from reforming political parties as one of the main pillars of democracy. Without healthy political parties, democracy risks becoming trapped in transactional practices and losing its ideological direction.
“Since the founding of this republic, our founding fathers have determined to choose Pancasila democracy as the best middle path. A democracy that is not merely procedural, but rooted in the noble values of Pancasila as the nation’s way of life,” said Bamsoet in his statement on Tuesday (6/5/2026).
Bamsoet made these remarks while speaking at RenTalks 2026 SMA Labschool Cirendeu today.
Bamsoet explained that the essence of democracy lies in balancing freedom and responsibility, including within the scope of political parties. Political parties should serve as spaces for leadership cadre development, political education, and connecting the people’s interests.
However, reality shows there are still serious challenges, ranging from low merit-based cadre development, elite dominance, to money politics practices that damage the quality of democracy. The 2025 Indikator Politik Indonesia survey indicates that trust in political parties is around 60 per cent.
The phenomenon of political pragmatism is also seen as increasingly strong within the party system. Political parties often get caught in short-term orientations to win elections, thus neglecting their ideological functions and political education for society. As a result, the public is often presented with contests that highlight popularity and ‘bag contents’ more than integrity, capacity, or ideas.
“One of the main challenges of democracy today is the suboptimal function of political parties in cadre development and leadership recruitment. Phenomena of transactional politics, power pragmatism, and money politics remain serious homework,” said Bamsoet.
Bamsoet emphasised that comprehensive political party reforms are an urgent need to improve the quality of democracy. Transparent and competency-based recruitment systems must be strengthened to produce quality leaders. In addition, transparency in party funding is also an important issue.
Based on data from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), many corruption cases involving politicians or regional heads stem from the high cost of politics and weak party funding systems. At least since 2004-2026, more than 200 regional heads have been prosecuted by the KPK for corruption cases.
On the other hand, political education for the public must also be strengthened so that voters become more rational and less susceptible to money politics or disinformation.
“The state must be present to strengthen the party system to make it healthier, more transparent, and accountable. With strong and integrity-based political parties, Pancasila democracy will be even more solid and able to address the challenges of the times,” Bamsoet concluded.