Monitoring of campaign financing 2006/2007

Financing of campaign and fight against corruption

Contemporary election campaigns are expensive. Political parties and other participants engage large financial and human resources in the wish to present themselves in the best possible way to potential voters. Necessity that participants secure huge receiving of assets in short time is potentially dangerous for democracy, because it can create dependence of current or future public interest decision makers on donors.

There are a lot of ways to prevent such harmful processes, and they were matter of consideration on international and national level, among experts, governmental and non governmental organizations. Solutions are various. Law on Financing of Political Parties which is adopted on July 2003, is in large level constructed in a way that things are observed from the fight against corruption point of view.

That law contains provisions by which part of the campaign assets are allocated from the budget. With smaller part budget assets are allocated prior to elections and is allocated in equal amounts to all participant in campaign. Political parties that become parliamentary can also count on four fifth of budget assets, but only for covering expenses already made in campaign, proportionally to the number of gained deputies. In that way the chance is given to those who will gain the most influence in determining public interest of Serbia thanks to the support of citizens to become less dependent from their donors.

By other anticorruption provisions accepting campaign donations from foreign donors, enterprises with portion of state capital, lottery organizers, anonymous donors, legal entity which haven’t paid off obligations towards public incomes are forbidden… Also important are regulations which limit sum of assets which can be collected and spent in campaign and limit the value of donation of one physical person or legal entity and regulations on having separate accounts for collecting and spending assets in election campaign.

Eventually, Law contains norms which have for goal securing publicity of information on campaign financing, check of data which election participants state in their reports and provisions on misdemeanor liability.

Besides good intentions, range of conducting anticorruption principles regarding election campaign financing stays far behind wanted. Problems developed in interpretation and conducting norms which should be the least problematic (state subsidies), while level of publicity of campaign financing and citizens’ determines into its accordance with the Law is rather small. That is one of the reasons because of which is necessary to work on legal frame improvement, but also to insist on the implementation of existing regulations, where implementation of the law can be better. Finally, lawful financing of campaign is one of the bases for achieving  of legitimacy of democratic election process, and that is one reason more that not only institutions in charge and political parties, but also civil society organizations and media should take more care of it.

Transparency Serbia’s earlier projects from the same area

Project of monitoring of financing of election campaign for deputies at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia which will be organized on January 21st 2007 is second project of that sort which is conducted by organization Transparency Serbia.

In the first project, that we worked on during 2004, regarding financing of campaign for president of the Republic, we analyzed meaning of provisions of the Law on Financing of Political Parties and their implementation on first elections organized after beginning of its implementation. Subject of our research that year were data on collected and spent assets that participants in the campaign submitted in their election campaign reports, information on number and value of broadcasted commercials and published adds, media texts, lines, titles on financing of campaign and other relevant sources.

In the analysis, we reviewed to content of the report and its possible meaning and determined correlation between level of engaged resources and success on the elections, structure of incomes and expenditures with certain nominators of candidates, influence of budget assets secluded for the campaign and for the financing of political parties, influence of the status before the elections to financing and the results of campaign and other significant questions not only for determining legality and respect of democratic regulations but also for better understanding of the role of money in politics.

In the conclusion we stated problems connected to conducting anticorruption regulation regarding the election campaigns and recommendations how to resolve these problems.

Results on Serbian and English can be taken over for free here.

Work of organization Transparency Serbia on the promotion of legal frame for financing of campaign prior to incoming elections

On the bases of gained experiences, organization Transparency Serbia in several attempts tried to influence on improving legal framework for financing. Such suggestions we stated in numerous media presentations, on international conferences, seminars and round tables in our organization or summon by other institutions and organizations (Mission of OSCE, Council of Europe, CESID, Open Society Fond ...). Besides that, we directly influenced to enter this question among priorities in National Anticorruption Strategy, which is written during 2004, and adopted in National Assembly in December 2005. That strategy anticipates that independent and expert body which would monitor implementation of Strategy should have authorization also for control of regularity of financing of election campaigns.

During the work on making preposition of the Law, with which that body would be established, during 2005 and 2006, we prepared concrete examples of solutions with which financing of election campaign would be regulated more completely. Unfortunately, among members of working group came to serious disagreements due to which work on preparation of the Law was continued strictly in the Government. In the preposition of the Law on Anticorruption Agency which hasn’t been considered in the Assembly, because of calling for elections, matter of changing of the regulations on financing the campaign isn’t considered separately.

Due to that time of bringing the amendments of the Law on Financing of Political Parties became completely uncertain, we focused our efforts from this area to the attempt that possibilities for realizing goals of that Law realize by improving By-law acts.

First attempt of such kind is initiative to the Ministry of Finance for changing Regulation and forms for reporting of collected and spent assets in election campaign. With large support of media and employees in Ministry and the minister himself, this preposition of changes is completely adopted on November 8th 2006. Details of this initiative you can look here (uneti link). Main result is that in the election campaign for January parliament elections submitters of the lists will be obligated to report on structure of assets collected in campaign and structure of expenditures in the campaign with more details then before.

Second effort in the same direction is initiative that Republic Electoral Commission should change its Rules of procedure. This initiative, from December 2006 has for goal securing that Republic Electoral Commission conducts more complete control of report on financing of campaign that gets from submitters of the lists after the elections, to bring misdemeanor procedures against those responsible for irregularities and to publish gained reports of list submitters and report on control which carries out. Details of this initiative you can look here (uneti link).

Monitoring of campaign financing for elections 2006/2007 - reasons

There are several reasons because of which is important to monitor financing of campaign for election of deputies which will be organized on January 21st 2007.

First reason is significance of those elections for further development of democracy and Serbian politics leading. Those are the first elections after bringing new Constitution of Serbia, with which it is constituted as independent state, after several decades. In other words, new national Assembly will have greater authority than any assembly which Serbia had from 1945 till today. Also, this elections can represent one more turning point in the development of political scene in Serbia, considering the uncertainty which follows them regarding the number of political parties that will gain their place in parliament.

Second reason is significance of which position matter of fight against corruption stands in the society, but also in pre electoral platforms of political parties. In almost all campaigns during November and December of 2006 matter of fight against corruption was one of the most significant. There is no doubt that legality in financing of election campaign represents one of the best ways to show this devotion to fight against corruption in practice.

Third reason is large suspicion of public in published sources of financing and amount of expenses of election campaign. Existence of such suspicion is certainly bad for democracy and for those who decide on public interest and because of that it is necessary to provide voters with much as possible reliable information on that matter.

Fourth reason is imperfection of legal and institutional framework in this area, due to which is necessary to secure additional impartial ways of media and domestic civil society monitoring.

Monitoring of campaign financing for elections 2006/2007 – ways of work

Due to limitation of available resources Transparency Serbia will pay much more attention to monitoring and analysis of questions of campaign financing which are the most important. We will direct our activities to following areas:

After finalizing of analysis, gathered information, comments and recommendations will be published.

Other activities on this project are related to our readiness to provide, in the scope of possibilities, help to all those interested in that gathering and spending assets is in accordance with current regulations. In that sense, authorized persons of electoral lists’ submitters, state organs’ servants, potential campaign donors, journalists and all others can turn to us with questions or remarks to mail kampanja07@transparentnost.org.yu or on some other contact of TS office.

Third mode of activities on this project is pointing out to public to important questions of campaign financing, through public statements, press conferences, our representatives in media, by publishing important information at this web – page and by publishing press clipping related to campaign financing.  pres kliping.