Presidential candidates must report donors

Moch. N. Kurniawan Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has announced that presidential and vice presidential candidates must report to the KPU all campaign contributions over Rp 5 million (US$581).

KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said each pair of presidential and vice presidential candidates would have to file an initial report on May 31, with a follow-up on July 1.

"The candidates must submit to the KPU the identity of the donors, including their addresses and the amount of the contribution," he said.

The KPU will publicly announce all contributions received by each candidate the day after it receives the list of the donors.

In addition to the list of their campaign donors, each pair must submit a complete report of all sources of their campaign funds to the KPU by July 8.

On July 10, the KPU will appoint independent auditors to examine those reports. The audit is scheduled to be completed by July 25 and the KPU will also announce the outcome of those audits on July 28.

The presidential election law limits the campaign contributions for a presidential candidate to Rp 100 million for an individual and Rp 750 million for a company or organization.

A violation carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail and/or a Rp 1 billion fine.

All presidential pairs will also be banned from receiving donations from foreign groups or individuals. They also cannot take contributions from anonymous contributors, the government or state-owned enterprises.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates who receive funds from those prohibited sources must not use the money and must report it to the KPU by July 14.

The law also calls for jail time and fines for submission of a fake campaign contribution report.

Separately, KPU member Anas Urbaningrum said on Sunday that the presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and his Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle counterpart President Megawati Soekarnoputri would on Monday register for the July 5 election along with their running mates Jusuf Kalla and Hasyim Muzadi respectively.