Legal Responsibility of the Implementation of Presidential Campaign Promises in Indonesia

Abstract

Political promises in presidential campaigns are a powerful way to attract public votes, but people are often disappointed when these promises are not fulfilled. Some have tried to equate them with civil contracts, even bringing them to general courts, but this is beyond their jurisdiction. So, where do campaign promises stand in the eyes of the law, and what are the legal responsibilities for it? This research employs a doctriner approach by analyzing relevant norms, doctrines, and cases in a qualitative descriptive form. The findings indicate that campaign promises are material for the formulation of the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and therefore fall within the scope of state administration. Some ways to hold them accountable include utilizing the authority of the House of Representatives (DPR) to either accelerate or hold an proportionate response to the execution of RPJMN, establishing legal effect of a normative provision provided in the Law No. 17/2024, constructing legal accountability scheme, and establishing easy-to-access platform to monitor promises by KPU. Thus, the accountability is not punitive, but rather aims to push the fulfillment of these promises.