The University’s of Indonesia’s (UI) Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM-UI) has estimated that a legislative candidate for the House of Representatives must spend an average of Rp 1.18b (US$104,045) to have any chance of securing victory in the upcoming election.
“This figure has increased from an average of Rp 250 million in the 2009 legislative election,” LPEM-UI researcher Teguh Dartanto said as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday.
He estimated the total income of a House member for five years reached to between Rp 5.3 and Rp 5.4 billion.
Meanwhile, he said, the total income a Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) member at the province level could reach was between Rp 1.6 and Rp 1.8 billion.
The minimum funds required by regional legislative candidates to run total Rp 320 million.
Both figures were calculated from the official and unofficial incomes of the House members and regional councilors, he said.
He pointed out that candidates would spend money excessively in the hope of recouping capital when they won the election.
Source/Fuente: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/20/house-hopefuls-splash-cash...
