KPK Arrests Highlight Need for Stricter Campaign Finance Oversight

The recent spate of hand-catching operations (OTT) targeting regional heads has put the spotlight on the supervision of campaign funds. Ida Budhiati, a lecturer at the University of Bhayangkara Jakarta and former member of the General Elections Commission (KPU), stated that the arrests indicate a need to evaluate the design of election administration, particularly regarding the prevention of money politics from the campaign stage.

According to Budhiati, the root problem is not a lack of regulations, as the Election Law is already quite comprehensive in regulating the prevention of money politics. “The real issue lies in the aspects of supervision and implementation,” she said during a public discussion in Jakarta on Thursday. She noted that the KPU has yet to formulate a realistic formula for determining campaign spending limits, resulting in ceilings that are often set too high.

Consequently, campaign finance reports submitted by candidates tend to be merely an administrative formality, with reported figures often far below the actual spending. Budhiati proposed that the revision of the Election Law should strengthen audit mechanisms to ensure that reported funds match the reality on the ground.

This call for reform comes amid a series of high-profile corruption cases. The KPK recently arrested the Regent of Pemalang, Anom Widiyantoro, in its 18th sting operation of 2026, on charges including the sale and purchase of positions. The case also implicated an administrative staff member from the KPK itself and a private individual in an alleged extortion scheme. Separately, the arrest of the Regent of Central Lampung, Ardito Wijaya, was linked to allegations of gratuities used to pay off campaign debts. The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) revealed that during the 2024 simultaneous regional elections, the average campaign donation received by 103 candidate pairs reached IDR 3.8 billion.