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CEP template 2012

Endnotes 1 Respondents reported that political parties were the most corrupt institutions in 51 of 107 surveyed countries. 2 The Afrobarometer report found that an average of 58 per cent of respondents had little or no trust in opposition parties and 42 per cent had little or no trust in the ruling party (Bratton, 2008). In Latin America, 23 per cent of respondents were reported to have trust in political parties (Corporación Latinobarómetro, 2010), which (while low) represents an increase from its nadir in 2003 (11 per cent) but a decrease from its highest point of 28 per cent (in 1997) since the surveys began in 1996. 3 Political parties are generally weaker in presidential systems and play a more central role in parliamentary systems, which is significant for the regulation of political finance. 4 Others may feel that, instead of a highly regulated but poorly enforced system, it may be better to adopt a system focused on transparency with fewer limitations. For example, unreasonably low donation and spending limits are likely to reduce accuracy in financial reporting. 5 This might also relate to the changing public perception of political parties, which are increasingly perceived as being closer to bodies of government than the older style massmembership citizen groups that aim to mobilise scores of citizens on a voluntary basis in political decision-making processes. 6 The International IDEA Political Finance Database is available at www.idea.int/political-finance Accessed on 21 November 2014. 7 Council of Europe recommends that state support must be limited to ‘reasonable contributions’ and must not ‘interfere with the independence of political parties’ (CoE, 2003). 8 In this regard, Germany provides an interesting case. It has worked to encourage party fundraising through a ‘matching grants’ mechanism in which public subsidies can never be higher than the amount raised by the party itself. 9 In the African context there are very few reports of sanctions being imposed in relation to political finance violations. 10 A further challenge is that the responsibility of controlling party and candidate finance is often spread across several different institutions, making holistic oversight dicult. 11 The main exception to this is the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), which has 49 member states (48 European plus the USA). F u n d i n g o f p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s a n d e l e c t i o n s References Bratton, M., 2008. Vote buying and violence in Nigerian election campaigns pdf Afrobarometer. Available at: www.afrobaro meter.org/files/documents/working_papers/AfropaperNo99.pdf Accessed 19 November 2014. CoE (Council of Europe), 2013. Parliamentary Assembly Document 9774/CoE of 13 April 2013 on the financing of political parties. Corporación Latinobarómetro, 2010. Latinobarometro 2010 Report pdf asep-sa. Available at: www.asep-sa.org/latino barometro/LATBD_ Latinobarometro_Report_2010.pdf Accessed 19 November 2014. TI (Transparency International), 2013. Global corruption barometer 2013 webpage Transparency. Available at: http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/report Accessed 19 November 2014. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 15 ELIN FALGUERA works as a programme officer in International IDEA’s Political Parties team and is the project manager of the institute’s global programme on political finance. In addition to researching and writing about the impact of money on politics, she has provided legislative advice in the area of political finance law. Falguera led the development of the 2012 International IDEA Political Finance Database, from its conceptualisation to implementation. Before joining International IDEA, she worked as an independent researcher. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. DR MAGNUS OHMAN has worked with the issue of political finance since the 1990s and has conducted both country analyses and reviews of global trends, which have been translated into 11 languages. He has also assisted legislators, regulatory institutions, civil society groups, media and political parties in this field in some 30 countries. Dr Ohman serves as the senior political finance advisor at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and is a board member of the Research Committee on Political Finance and Political Corruption of the International Political Science Association. He has worked with a range of institutions, including the Carter Center, the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD), Electoral Reform International Services (ERIS), the EU, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Sida and UNDP. Dr Ohman holds a PhD in political science from Uppsala University, Sweden.


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