Camelia Pasandaran – The swearing in of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono on Oct. 20 will "more or less" cost the country Rp 1.2 billion, the General Elections Commission acknowledged on Monday.

Suripto Bambang Setiadi, secretary general of the commission, also known as the KPU, said it had already allotted the funding, equivalent to $126,000, and begun making preparations for the ceremony.

It is unclear whether the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which will host the ceremony, is allocating additional funds for the occasion.

The budget has drawn sharp criticism from observers. However, the cost is a mere fraction of the $4.7 million spent for the swearing in of the 560 new members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and 128 members of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) last week.

Roy Salam, a research coordinator from the Indonesian Budget Center, said the figure was excessive. "It is only for the inauguration of two people," he said, adding that the state would not have to cover expenses such as transportation to the capital.

Roy said that by his calculations, a budget of Rp 200 million was more than enough for the inauguration but poor planning had caused the budget to swell.

"They previously only allocated Rp 900 million for the inauguration, but now, that figure has climbed to Rp 1.2 billion," he said. "It means they have increased the budget without even paying attention to the budget allocations."

Roy said that of the initial Rp 900 million earmarked for the inauguration, there was no clear information on how the funds would be spent.

"Most of it was for [staff] honorariums, but they didn't provide any information about the format of the event, which would have given us a better idea about how much was needed," he said.

Roy also said that reflecting on the recent inauguration for the House members, most of the budget seemed to be allocated to relatively trivial things such as food and drinks at a five-star hotel.

"What is the point of having a big budget for what is, in the end, just a 30-minute swearing-in process," he said. "Could they not plan a less ostentatious event?"

The KPU's Bambang said that the high figure was just an estimate of costs. "It is only a budget," he said. "It doesn't mean that we will use all of it."

KPU member Endang Sulastri said the funds not spent from the budget would be returned to the state. "For the House inauguration, the budget was taken from the KPU," she said. "The budget from the House was not used and will be returned."

Roy, however, said this only exposed the KPU's inability to plan a budget.