There are three categories of problems related to the funding of political parties. The first category refers to the monitoring and control system that is designed to protect the political arena from illegal financing, the dependence of parties on a limited number of donors or over-costs. Though there are caps on donations and on the total amount of incomes that a party can obtain from private sources, these are set at very high levels. Such conclusions were formulated by the authors of Promo-LEX’s study “Strategies, practices and instruments for financing political parties in the Republic of Moldova,” IPN reports.
The second category of problems refers to the ensuring of transparency and control over party funding. Promo-LEX ascertained that the annual financial reporting by parties was irregular so far. Of the registered political parties, only ten presented financial reports in 2013 and 18 in 2014. Though the legal provisions guarantee transparency in the financing process, the political parties avoid making the financial information public.
The third category of problems is related to parties’ limited capacities to efficiently and transparently manage the possessed financial resources and to report the costs. The study reveals that in most of the cases the internal regulations and structure of political parties do not meet the legal requirements, while the financial management is over-centralized.
Promo-LEX recommends Parliament to review the caps on donations made by private individuals and legal entities to 20 and, respectively, 40 average salaries, as it was stipulated initially in the draft law. To prevent the private sector’s unjustified influence on political parties, it is recommended diminishing the annual incomes of parties from private sources and reducing the volume of membership dues and donations collected annually.
Promo-LEX also recommends institutionalizing the financial management and familiarizing the personnel of parties at central and local levels with the current legislation on party funding and efficient financial management.
