Home Minister: Regional Gov’ts to Disburse NPHD for 2020 Simultaneous Regional Elections before 15 June

Infographics on simultaneous regional election rescheduling. (Source: KPU)

Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian has instructed regional governments to immediately disburse Regional Grant Agreement Document (NPHD) for this year’s Simultaneous Regional Elections on 9 December.

“We hope that before the 15th, the Regional Election Commission (KPUD) and the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) have budgets to carry out the next stages which will begin on 15 June, while for the addition of other budgets, it is requested from the Regional Budget through the NPHD addendum,” the Minister said during a Ministerial Special Coordination Meeting via Video Conference, on Monday (8/6).

The Minister also explained the budget realization of each region for the elections. He also asked regional governments to boost the realization through the agreed NPHD.

Tito stated that at the provincial level, regional governments have realized 42% of the budget while at the regency/municipal level, regional governments have realized around 41% of the budget.

Furthermore, the Minister went on to say, Directorate General of Regional Finance has checked to ensure that each region has sufficient fiscal space related to  budget addition for health protocols, outside of NPHD.

“129 regions have reported, 141 have not reported, of 129 regions that have reported this financial problem, 57 regions stated that they were able to finance from their Regional Budget,” Tito said, adding that 72 regions have difficulty to finance from their Regional Budget.

The Minister also prohibited election budget cuts for the success of the simultaneous elections amid COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have also sent a letter to Minister of Finance to refrain from cutting the budget, related to the rationalization of ministries/institutions’ policies, as well as to Bawaslu and the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP),” he concluded. (Ministry of Home Affairs PR/EN)

Translated by: Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Reviewed by: Mia M. Bonaedy