Civil society ascertains an alarming situation as regards financing of political parties

“The findings and conclusions of the research point to an alarming situation as regards the financing of political parties. Currently, the political parties are very much financially dependent on a narrow circle of large donors. It seems that the political parties do not want the circle of donors to be widened as this implies greater responsibility towards the electors-donors,” Sergiu Ostaf, director of the Resource Center for Human Rights (CreDO), said in an interview for Info-Prim Neo, titled “{Financing of all parties depends on several dozens of persons}”. Sergiu Ostaf made reference to the study “Financing of political parties in the November 28, 2010 parliamentary elections”, conducted by CreDO and the Center for Partnership Development. This research is unprecedented not only in Moldova, but also in the region “If such a situation persists, we will witness the further degradation of the political parties as entities and as democratic institutions, without exception,” said CreDO director. According to him, the requirements as regards income reporting are summary and too general. In the previous legislative elections, the parties did not comply with the these requirements and neglected the CEC's requests to present the required information. ”The analysis of the lists of donors shows that there are non-authentic donors and donors lacking financial capacity to donate. The existence of these categories of donors is not accidental, but systemic,” said Sergiu Ostaf. As regards the expenses, a large part of them are not reported in accordance with the Election Code. The costs for the personnel, the parties' electoral staff, electoral consultancy services, organization of sociological researches are not fully reported. The costs for the electoral materials and organization of public events, especially concerts, are only partially reported. Assessments show that the real costs are practically double compared with the reported ones. Consequently, the transparency of costs is not ensured. Sergiu Ostaf said that one of the main drawbacks as regards incomes is the cap on donations is too high (1.5 million lei for private individuals). The high ceiling stimulates the political parties' dependence on large donors and discourages the wider participation of persons and small donors. That's why it must be decreased 100 times. The circle of donors for political parties should be broadened, including by working out fiscal mechanisms for encouraging the direction of a certain percentage of the tax for these purposes. Another drawback is that the state does not finance the political parties, especially the activities performed by the parties between the elections and the formulation of platforms and policy proposals. This makes the political parties vulnerable and dependent on certain economic circles. According to the expert, the Central Election Commission does not have adequate capacity to collect evidence and prove the discrepancy between the real costs and the reported costs, while the civil society actors and interested sides cannot report violations of the legal provisions concerning cost reporting, committed by the political parties, to the CEC and other competent bodies. Other election contenders have the right to report such violations. “Regrettably, the real costs that will be incurred in the local general elections will most probably not be fully reported. It is only several months since the last elections of November 2010. Thus, the recommendations formulated in the report, which are aimed at making the political parties more responsible and their activity more transparent, have not been implemented by decision makers. There are signs that the situation will not improve much,” Sergiu Ostaf stated for Info-Prim Neo.