KPU lambasted over dubious funds

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta

Election watchdogs regretted on Friday the decision by the General Elections Commission (KPU) not to verify questionable sources of campaign funds, saying it contradicted the public's right to know.

"We regret the KPU's rejection. The commission must not reject (suggestions for investigative audits) so quickly," Elections Supervisory Committee member Didik Supriyanto said.

Audits on the July 5 presidential candidates' campaign funds revealed that some had received funds from "dubious sources", which prompted several election watchdogs and anticorruption activists to call for investigative audits.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) and the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) alleged earlier that two candidates -- front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Megawati Soekarnoputri, who will be contesting in the September runoff -- had received donations from either non-existent or unclear sources.

The two watchdogs urged the KPU to conduct further verification into funding sources and announce their results to the public.

However, KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah said on Thursday that such measures were unnecessary, because the concerned campaign teams agreed to surrender the "dubious funds" to state coffers.

Didik said the KPU's almost immediate rejection only showed the commission was poorly committed to transparency.

According to the Presidential Elections Law, candidates may not accept donations for campaigning from foreign parties, state enterprises or unclear sources, or face disqualification. They may, however, retain their candidacy if they surrender the questionable funds to the national treasury. If not, those candidates may face criminal charges.

Ahsan Jamet Hamidi from the TII, a KPU-commissioned election watchdog, said the rejection simply restricted the public's access to information, and that "the KPU ignored facts provided by the TII and ICW".

Sarif Bastaman from the Megawati-Hasyim Muzadi campaign team acknowledged that an audit conducted by the KPU had shown a Rp 5 million donation from unconfirmed sources.

"But we have transferred the money to the treasury. There is no problem," he said.

Sarif said the issue of unverified donations did not concern the presidential candidates, but their donors.

Megawati had received Rp 5.3 million in dubious funds, while Susilo had received Rp 10.2 million, both of which have been surrendered to the state.

Didik said lawmakers should be prompted by the incident to revise the Presidential Elections Law to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

In addition, legal loopholes have left auditors unable to classify the Rp 8 billion from Warung Wiranto, or Wiranto's street stalls, which were set up throughout the country during the campaign period and sold goods such as snacks, drinks and campaign paraphernalia.

Auditors eventually decided to categorize the funds as coming from "other sources".

The law defines a donation as money given by an individual or an institution, but does not mention money made through campaign- related sales activities.