Jakarta – The House of Representatives said that it would back the government's plan to scrap payment for election observers in the 2014 legislative election.

Chairman of the House Commission II overseeing regional administration, Agun Gunandjar, said that lawmakers had no problem with the new plan.

"The plan comes from the government so, if they decide to drop [the payment], we're fine with it – as long as they are aware of the importance of monitoring the balloting process," Agun said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Activists have lambasted the government's initial decision to pay observers – who represent political parties at every polling station across the country – during the election using taxpayers' money.

The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) said that the cost of paying election observers from political parties was an unnecessary burden for the government.

The cost of paying thousands of observers across at least 545,778 polling stations nationwide would be Rp 660 billion [US$54.35 million].