Transparency and Control in Political Party Financing

Asociatia Pro Democratia has taken a leading role in promoting and supporting transparency of political parties and electoral campaigns financing since early 2000. It has monitored electoral spending of political parties and candidates for national elections organized in 2000 and 2004 and promoted its results among citizens and journalists, advocated for legislative improvements in accordance to its findings, supported the public consultation process run by Romanian authorities in their attempts to improve the legislation in this field, and, last but not least, attended all debates in the Commissions of the Romanian Parliament to advocate such improvements.

Despite the legislative improvements brought about by the law passed in 2006, illegal financing of political parties continues to represent one of the most common instruments to obtain personal benefits from politicians. Thus, the goal of the project „Transparency and Control in Political Party Financing", running from December 2007 until October 2008, is to develop the control and transparency capacities in the area of electoral campaigns and political parties financing. As such, APD will directly work on increasing the capacity of the Permanent Electoral Authority to accomplish all tasks that the Law on political parties and electoral campaigns financing passed in 2006. Furthermore, the project will contribute to increasing the capacity of political parties to organize their activities in the area of financing and financial reporting in order to achieve the standards established by the above mentioned Law.

In order to achieve this goal, Asociatia Pro Democratia will closely collaborate with one of the most important public institutions with attributions in the field of political party and electoral campaign financing control – the Permanent Electoral Authority - and with the governmental agency in charge with transparency of civil servants and governmental institutions – the Agency for Governmental Strategies.

This project is financed by the European Union through the 2005 Phare - Strengthening Democracy in Romania Program.

This article was published in Politeia Newsletter 48 - February 2008