Cost of Politics Reports

Berfokus pada pemilihan legislatif 2024, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memahami berbagai biaya yang dikeluarkan untuk memenangkan dan mempertahankan kursi jabatan publik, faktor-faktor pendorong biaya, dan dampaknya terhadap demokrasi di Indonesia. Secara khusus penelitian ini mengamati kelompok-kelompok marginal seperti perempuan dan pemuda karena berbagai riset telah menunjukkan bahwa meningkatnya biaya politik di Indonesia tidak hanya memperkuat dan meningkatkan status quo, tetapi juga secara efektif menurunkan peluang kandidat yang kurang mampu atau tidak memiliki koneksi politik untuk memenangkan kursi parlemen

Focused on the 2024 legislative elections, this study aims to understand what it costs to seek and maintain elective office, the drivers of those costs and the impacts they have on Indonesian democracy. A specific focus on marginalised groups such as women and youth is driven by existing research that suggests that the rising cost of politics in Indonesia has not only entrenched and enhanced this status quo but also effectively lowered the chance of less affluent or connected candidates to win parliamentary seats.

Thailand’s May 2023 general election demonstrated that many newcomers, even those with little to no previous electoral experience, were capable of defeating incumbents, defying election polls and academic predictions. In many constituencies the elections indicated a shift away from traditional, old-money politics, and an embracing of newcomers with dedication, a positive development for the future of Thai politics. Despite this, money continues to be a prominent feature of parliamentary politics in the country. Securing an election victory is a formidable task; repeating this success in subsequent elections is even more challenging. The demands of a political career encompass time, commitment, connections, and financial resources. Vote buying remains a significant factor in some areas, playing a crucial role in the success of both new candidates and incumbents, despite provisions outlawing it. This study aims to better understand the costs of politics that aspiring and successful political candidates must endure in the Thai context.

Following Sierra Leone's change to a district block proportional representation electoral system ahead of the 2023 elections, this study reflects on how this system altered cost of politics dynamics in the country, with a particular focus on women and youth.

Kuwait has historically stood out from its oil-wealthy neighbours in housing a politically powerful and obstreperous parliament. Elected at a minimum every four years by Kuwaiti citizens over the age of 21 , elections in recent years have happened more frequently , as the body can be, and had been, dissolved either by the amir or by the Constitutional Court before it has finished its term. The increasing number of elections has been accompanied by an increase in the costs of contesting with one study estimating that they have risen 20-50% in recent years providing a deterrent for Kuwaitis considering running in parliamentary elections.

Liberia has held four peaceful and successful multi-party elections since the return to constitutional democracy in 2005. Those polls have facilitated seamless transitions and have been judged to be largely free and credible, despite numerous institutional and financial challenges. But while the constitutional and statutory laws on elections are progressive, the rules of the game in practice are skewed in favor of political elites and relatively wealthier individuals, mostly men, who dominate the political space. As a result, electoral politics, rather than being a competition between parties and individuals over policy ideas and records of competence for votes, is largely contested among politically connected elites and the wealthier citizens.

The relationship between money and politics has remained a persistent concern for advocates and activists of free and fair elections in Sri Lanka. Across urban and rural political landscapes, and throughout the various stages of electoral politics, money has become a common feature with individual contestants from all political parties required to make a hefty financial outlay to etch their name and number into the minds of voters.

The Zambia Cost of Politics Survey is an attempt to collect systematic data on issues pertaining to campaign finance in the Zambian 2021 parliamentary election. Observers of Zambian politics have long voiced concerns about the extent to which parliamentary elections are characterised by lavish spending and high levels of clientelism.