DPR Legislation Body: Political Parties Law Needs Revision to Regulate Funding and Prevent Corruption
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Legislation Body (Baleg) DPR RI, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, believes that Law Number 2 of 2011 on Political Parties (Parpol) needs to be revised to organise the sources and management of political party finances, in order to prevent corruption practices as recommended by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
He stated that the Political Parties Law needs to be promptly refined, considering various developments in political dynamics, both empirically and in terms of evolving thought.
“In the revision of that law, one of the important matters that must be discussed includes the sources and management of political party finances,” said Doli when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday.
After 28 years of reformasi, he hopes for the strengthening and institutionalisation of politics among societal elements through the institutionalisation of political parties.
For that reason, according to him, all parties must be committed to making political parties institutions that can be managed in a modern and independent manner. Political party cadre development, he said, needs to become an inevitability and connected to the aspirations and will of the people.
He explained that political parties are important pillars in the structure of democracy. According to him, government organising institutions are products of general elections.
“In elections, one of the most important elements is political parties along with the people as the holders of sovereignty,” said the Member of DPR RI Commission II.
Therefore, according to him, political parties, elections, and government cannot be separated from one another, as they are interconnected in democracy. If good governance is desired, then the other elements must also be good.
On the other hand, Doli assessed that the revision of the Election Law has also entered the Long-Term Development Plan (RPJP), which mandates strengthening the political system development. In the RPJP Law, this needs to be done through codification of the Election Law, Regional Head Election Law, and Political Parties Law.
“If we want to have good government institutions, then the elections must also be good. A good election system will be perfect if the political parties participating in the elections are also good,” he said.
Previously, the KPK recommended revisions to Law Number 2 of 2011 on Political Parties, by adding scopes for standardising political education, cadre development, and political party financial reporting.
The KPK views that political party cadre development needs to be improved after the last 22 years or during 2004-2025, with 371 politicians caught in corruption criminal cases recorded. The KPK considers that improving the political party governance system is increasingly urgent because it is closely related to public policy and government governance.