The introduction of the mixed-member electoral system can lead to a rise in the costs of the campaign prior to the parliamentary elections through the doubling of costs per voter owing to the establishment of single-member constituencies. This way the electoral process would be distorted by advantaging the election runners with access to financial resources, expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Sergiu Lipcean says in the study “Problems and challenges in financing parliamentary elections in the context of the electoral system change”, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the Institute.
“The control over election funding is a vulnerable point in virtue of the CEC’s dependence on the expertise of other state institutions that are not politically independent, which increases the probability of using this in single-member constituencies with the aim of influencing the electoral competition,” stated Sergiu Lipcean.
The study shows that depending on the permissiveness level, the caps on electoral costs distort in different ways the electoral competition. In the Republic of Moldova, we witness an evolution from restrictive caps to another extreme, which is to very permissive ceilings. In the first case, the election runners with access to resources were constrained, at least legally, not to fully profit from this advantage. In the second case, we witness a contrary situation where the abundance of financial resources and their use in the campaign can decisively influence the electoral result.
The study says the analysis of the last two parliamentary elections showed that transparency in the use of financial resources is not ensured. Even if the electoral legislation was amended, the key provisions concerning the publication of data about the identity of donors are implemented only partially.
The study was conducted by “Viitorul” in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). Ana Mihailov, coordinator of the FES program in Moldova, said the financing of political parties remains a challenge for Moldova, while the scandals related to this of the last few years and the erosion of the legitimacy of political players show that the problem of party funding should be addressed immediately so that the citizens do not lose interest in the political life and confidence in the political system.
