It is partly funded by media baron Surya Paloh who founded the similarly named organization, National Democrats (Indonesian: Nasional Demokrat).

[5][6][7] On 17 May 2023, the Secretary General of the NasDem Party, Johnny G. Plate was named a suspect in the corruption case of the 4G BTS Infrastructure project in frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged areas (Indonesian: Daerah 3T: Terdepan, Terluar, Tertinggal) which was estimated to result in state losses of more than IDR 8 trillion.

[citation needed] The party was officially declared on 26 July 2011, although it had previously registered to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in March.

However, Surya Paloh has "repeatedly denied" that he formed the NasDem Party to allow him to run for the presidency again.

[11] During the 2014 election campaign, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission criticized Surya Paloh-owned news network Metro TV for its excessive coverage of the party.

[15] As per Articles 3 and 4 in its constitution and bylaws (AD/ART), NasDem is founded on Pancasila and identifies itself as the "Movement for the Restoration of Indonesia".

As in 2023, several political corporate universities have been established: PDIP Party School (PDIP), Gerindra Party Cadre School (Gerindra), Demokrat Academy (Demokrat), and Golkar Institute (Golkar).