TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following the crowdfunding path taken by Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto to fund its party ahead of the 2019 presidential election (Pilpres), the party`s communication board member Andre Rosiade said that a high amount of funds is needed to face the democratic party in the country.

“The cost of participating in politics is getting expensive,” said Andre today, June 26.

Andre gave an example of the funds allocated for electoral voting ballot witnesses that would spend up to trillions of rupiah, on the other hand, the party’s logistical ability is currently limited. He revealed that Gerindra had relied on its members for its main funding, however, it could only manage to provide 20 percent of the party’s total needs.

Read: Prabowo Calls Public to Donate Funds for Gerindra in Election

The crowdfunding system that Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto chose to take is being done through the Telegram app, where people can donate to the party’s official Telegram account, @GalangPerjuangan.

Thus, how many donations has Gerindra collected since it was opened on June 23? According to Andre, the donations collected reached Rp296 million. “That’s roughly the total amount we gathered,” he said.

Furthermore, Andre maintained that the crowdfunding scheme heavily promoted by Prabowo Subianto has been considered as a normal practice in politics abroad. Other than to maintain transparency of the party’s operational costs, he said that it also acts as a way to reassure the credibility of Gerindra politicians and distance themselves from capitalists.

ANDITA RAHMA