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The majority and the opposition drafted by consensus the draft law on "Financing of Political Parties", which will be reviewed on Wednesday in the Special Committee on Electoral Reform, according to the public agenda of this committee.
The draft law was drafted by the experts of this committee as a joint draft, and provides detailed rules on how political parties will be financed and prohibitive criteria.
The drafting of a special law for clear standards for party financing is a request from the European Commission and aims to solve problems with the transparency of election campaign financing.
The draft law provides for mechanisms for publishing financial data on the dedicated electronic platform of the CEC to allow the public to track transactions and expands the powers of this institution for in-depth verification of these reports.
In the area of restrictions on sources of funding, funding from foreign entities, entities with public contracts, persons with certain criminal records or anonymous donations is prohibited.
The categories of prohibited donors include foreign entities, anonymous persons, companies with state capital, public entities, companies with concessions, NGOs, debtor entities, and persons convicted of certain crimes.
The prohibitions article is considered an article of fundamental importance for preventing unlawful influence and preserving political independence, according to the accompanying report of the initiative.
The list of permissible sources includes membership fees, donations, funding from the state budget, loans, and other lawful income.
The new provisions aim to improve equality in access to public finances for political parties, by distributing funds based on parliamentary representation, number of votes and participation in electoral processes. A specific incentive grant for parties is foreseen to promote gender equality and increase the representation of young people.
The draft law also provides for restrictions on the use of cash, requires mandatory auditing of each party, etc.
In cases of violations of legal provisions, various fines are foreseen depending on the violation and measures that may lead to the suspension of public funding for a period of 5 years, while failure to submit financial reports is punished with exclusion from the right to register for elections.
The report claims that the new legal initiative reflects OSCE/ODIHR recommendations regarding electronic publication of financial data and stronger control of campaign spending, as well as all recommendations from other international organizations on transparency of party financing. / BIRN
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