Law No. 6 of 2014 on the Village obliges the central government to allocate the Village Funds from the national budget for the improvement of public services, community empowerment and rural development.

One of the specters haunting the conduct of “Feasts of Democracy” i.e. the political elections of Indonesia, both national and regional, is the practice of money politics. The terminology refers to the practice of buying votes by election participants as well as by supporters, whether official or not, usually conducted before a vote is held. Due to money politics, voters lose their autonomy to elect candidates for public officials through rational considerations, such as track records, performance, programs or campaign promises, and choose candidates merely for pecuniary gains.

The House of Representatives (DPR) has appointed Bambang Soesatyo as the Chair of the House of Representatives on Monday (15/01), replacing Setya Novanto who was named a suspect in the e-KTP corruption case and is currently facing trial. Before the inauguration, Bambang Soesatyo said that he would have two main duties as the Chair.

Former president SBY was mentioned in the testimony of Mirwan Amir in the trial of the e-KTP corruption case, with Setya Novanto in the dock, Thursday (25/1). The former Democratic Party politician claimed to have suggested to SBY to stop the project.

The General Election Commission (KPU) requires candidates to submit the State Officials' Asset Report (LHKPN). Unfortunately, there is no sanctioning mechanism for candidates whose reports of assets are dishonest.

Thursday, January 11, 2018, is exactly nine months after the attack against Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan. In the period, there has been no clear information on the result of investigation conducted by the Police of the Republic of Indonesia. Since the incident occurred, the Police has not indeed remained silent; several steps having been taken as described by Tempo.

Elections of Regional Heads and Voter Sovereignty

The simultaneous elections of regional heads (Pemilukada) will be conducted in 2018. About 171 regions will hold elections for the heads of provinces, regencies, and cities on 27 June 2018.

Twenty two youths have been selected to participate in the 2017 Anti-Corruption Course (SAKTI), organized by Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) last August. Unlike in 2013 and 2015, this year’s SAKTI has been greatly supported by the public through public donations and corporate support.

Support from the public, corporations and donor agencies have contributed to the success of 2017 SAKTI. There were almost 200 prospective participants, coming from all over Indonesia. This shows the great enthusiasm of the youth to get involved in the activity.

The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Arief Hidayat allegedly lobbied a number of politicians to extend his term of office, which will expire in the next 6 months. In addition to violating ethics, Arief's attitude can undermine MK's dignity.

With the rapidly rising number of social media users, ICW must immediately adapt to new campaign patterns. The year 2016 became a learning moment for ICW, to test the effectiveness and strategies for the use of social media in spreading the values ​​of anti-corruption in the community.