Political party campaign and financing regulation

Fri, Sept 10, 2010

The issue of political party financing is proving to be a very contentious one in St.Vincent and the Grenadines in particular, and the rest of the Caribbean in general. It is especially so here in SVG, both in light of the proximity of the next general elections, as well as the fact that over the past year or so, it has proven to be a very controversial issue.{{more}}

It surfaced during the referendum campaign of last year and has intensified since then. It has reached the stage where, at present, both parties are out in the public accusing each other of obtaining foreign financing and, consequently, intervention in our national democratic process.

Last week, Prime Minister Gonsalves accused the Opposition of being beneficiary to a $5 million contribution from foreign sources. In turn, Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace has repeated his charges of the Government receiving a $1 million injection during the referendum campaign which is still unexplained. In addition to these, there are cross-party allegations of parties being funded from illegal sources and certain private sector contributions. These charges and counter-charges have the effect of widening the partisan political divide, with citizens lining up behind one position or another. Where is the national interest in all this?

Amazingly, while we digest the allegations of one sort or another, both the governing ULP and the opposition NDP are privy to information which would put a very different perspective on the debate. Both were among regional political parties, in government and opposition alike, invited to participate in a Conference held in Jamaica last week to deal with precisely such issues. From reports reaching us, the ULP was not represented, but the NDP was represented by its General Secretary, former government Minister Allan Cruickshank.

The Conference was organised by the Organisation of American States (OAS) on “financing political parties and campaigns”. General Secretaries of all CARICOM Parliamentary parties were invited to participate. The main discussion focussed on draft legislation proposed by the OAS for consideration, governing the critical matters concerning electoral and political campaigns, party financing, the registration of political parties, disclosure of relevant information, and enforcement of such legislation once enacted. OAS Assistant Secretary Albert Ramdin, opening the Conference, remarked that it was “both timely and important…given a new round of elections” in the offing (SVG being right on line). He also pointed out that “The ability of candidates to raise funds, to form parties and to organize solid election campaigns is the central challenge to electoral democracy in the region.”

The emphasis on the importance of such legislation was also provided by OAS Secretary General Jose Manuel Insulza. In giving a background to the proposed legislation, Insulza pointed to the fact that campaign financing has been “a recurring theme” in the run-up to the 50-odd elections that the OAS has monitored in the last five years alone. “Politicians and citizens alike complain about the prohibitive cost of campaigns,” the OAS Head went on to say, “and watchdog organisations warn of the lack of transparency in raising large sums of money.”

We quote him further: “Campaign financing is vigorously debated before and during an election, but dropped almost as soon as the ballots are counted. If left unattended, therefore, this issue will continue to erode the credibility of elections and the political parties which compete in them.”

In light of this, the legislation proposed is extremely relevant. In summary, it raises issues such as the juridical definition of political parties (what constitutes such a party?), how should they be funded? Does the State have a responsibility in this regard? Transparency -disclosure of contributions and expenditure, the cost of campaigns, the creation of effective, independent, well-funded and well-resourced regulatory bodies and state financing of parties and election campaigns are also very critical elements of the legislation proposed.

Enough of this sterile back-and-forth series of accusations! The OAS has taken the bold step forward to put intelligent proposals forward. Prohibition of one of the most controversial local issues – external funding – is among them. Let us carry the debate to a different level, seizing the initiative from the politicians and demonstrating that for us, democracy is all about participation and control by the people. The draft legislation can be accessed at: http://community.oas.org/political parties/default/aspx.