Moldova’s overall performance in governance and anti-corruption is weak

Moldova’s overall performance in governance and anti-corruption is weak, says the Global Integrity Report: 2008 released in Washington, the United States, on February 18. According to the report, the country earns particularly poor ratings in government accountability, oversight of political financing, and accountability of law enforcement bodies. The media also earned very weak scores for its role as a corruption watchdog: while the “constitution guarantees freedom of opinion and expression,” implementation is weak, Info-Prim Neo reports. Despite robust legislation criminalizing corruption, the anti-corruption agency responsible for enforcing those laws is generally ineffective. Voting and the election system, however, are strong and inclusive, Global Integrity says about Moldova. The Global Integrity Report: 2008 says that poor transparency around the financing of political parties and candidates is the weakest element of most countries surveyed. Regardless of income levels, the greatest corruption threat facing a majority of countries is the unregulated flow of money into the political process. Global Integrity: 2008 is a major investigative study of 57 countries. Rather than measure perceptions of corruption, the report assesses the accountability mechanisms and transparency measures in place (or not) to prevent corruption through more than 300 “Integrity Indicators.” The study was financed by the Australian Agency for International Development, the Canadian International Development, the Legatum Institute and the World Bank. Global Integrity is an award-winning international nonprofit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends globally.