Incumbent told to make campaign funding transparent

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 06/18/2009 5:04 PM  |  Presidential Election

To show adherence to the true value of democracy and good governance, an economist says the presidential candidates need to disclose sources of their campaign funding.

Market analyst Yanuar Rizki insists that the incumbent bears a bigger responsibility in upholding transparency than his opponents.

"The incumbent had better initiate the exposure of campaign funding, because traditionally the incumbent is the market leader of a democracy," Yanuar said Thursday.

Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had not done enough to promote transparency, Yanur said.

"The incumbent is the poorest candidate, but it is ironic to see the massive volume of his advertising in the media," he said.

Syarif Hasan, chairman of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party (PD) faction at the House of Representatives, said the party was fully committed to maintaining transparency in its campaign funding.

The Democratic Party was ready to reveal sources of its campaign funding to the General Elections Commission (KPU) if asked to do so, Syarif said.

Syarif also assured that the party would not use state institutions for campaign funding.

However, Yanuar said based on his research, there was no way for the incumbent to avoid using state funds for the campaigns.

"Everywhere in the world, an incumbent President uses a portion of the state revenue to fund his or her campaign," he said.

"The difference is that some of them admit to using state funds for campaigning while others do not." (hdt)

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